MAD Solutions has launched CineMAD, a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to bridge the gap between international festival acclaim and local audiences. The program will bring over 20 celebrated Arab films from the global festival circuit directly to commercial cinemas across the Middle East and North Africa.
The announcement was made during the closing ceremony of the Cairo International Film Festival, preceding the screening of Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab.
Scheduled to run for three months starting December 2025, CineMAD aims to transform how Arab indie and festival films reach the public. The program will employ three distinct release models: wide releases for high-profile titles, limited releases for critical darlings, and simultaneous region-wide “One Night Only” events.
“CineMAD is about building a real ecosystem for Arab films — one that doesn’t end at the festival red carpet,” said Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab, co-founders of MAD Solutions. “It’s about connecting films, filmmakers, and audiences in a way that feels alive, inclusive, and cinematic.”
A Collaborative Regional Effort
The initiative represents a significant collaboration between key distribution players. It will kick off in three PREMIERE Cinemas locations in Cairo, with Empire Entertainment handling GCC and Levant distribution, Filmlab managing Palestine, and Easy Distribution covering Tunisia. Additional MENA partners are expected to be announced soon.
Industry leaders welcomed the partnership. Ramzi Khoury, PREMIERE Cinemas Chairman, stated, “We are delighted to be the Egyptian platform… bringing voices from the Maghreb, North Africa, and the Levant to our Cairene film fans.”
Serge Zabbal of Empire Entertainment called it “an amazing initiative to make quality indie movies accessible in cinemas all around the region — a much-needed step.”
From Filmlab Palestine, Hanna Atallah and Ola Salama noted, “This collaboration supports our mission to share authentic Palestinian and Arab voices on screen. CineMAD is more than a distribution program—it’s a celebration of our shared cinematic identity.”
Curated Lineup and Special Event
The curated lineup features award-winning titles from across the Arab world, including Annemarie Jacir’s Palestine 36, Suzannah Mirghani’s Cotton Queen, and Ameer Fakher Eldin’s Yunan.
The launch will be marked by a special opening-night event in Cairo titled “Drop The Beat,” sponsored by Red Bull. It will showcase three short films fusing cinema with the region’s music scene, featuring artists like Ziad Zaza and Marwan Moussa.
A Step Toward a Sustainable Industry
Project Manager Omar Khalil framed CineMAD as a crucial step for industry development: “Just as indie films are thriving in commercial theatres worldwide, we want Arab festival titles to share that space—and hopefully inspire more emerging filmmakers.”
The initiative positions itself as the first chapter in a larger project to anchor festival films within mainstream Arab cinema culture, promising audiences unprecedented access to the region’s most compelling contemporary stories on the big screen.
TunisianMonitorOnline (NejiMed)
