Last week, the second edition of the Cineville Film Festival took off in Casablanca, Morocco. Amidst the festival’s various activations and screenings, the participating Egyptian film, Poisonous Roses (Ward Masmoum), was proudly named a winner. At the closing ceremony, the film was granted the Best Film award.

A month ago, Egypt selected Poisonous Roses as its submission to compete for the Best International Feature Film award at the 2020 Oscars. We couldn’t be any prouder of the Egyptian production, and we really do think we stand a chance this year. 

Based on a 1990 novel, titled Poisonous Roses for Sakr, the film tells the story of brother and sister, Taheya and Sakr. The storyline follows the siblings living with their mother at the impoverished tannery district in Cairo, struggling to make a living.

The film stars Mahmoud Hemeida, Marihan Magdy, Ibrahim El Nagari, and Safaa El Toukhy. It’s also worth mentioning that the film, written and directed by Ahmed Fawzi Saleh, is his debut feature film.