Film Square Productions (“Ahmed & Ahmed”) and Egyptian producer Ahmed Badawy have boarded the upcoming Egyptian fantasy feature “The Masters of Magic and Beauty” as co-producers.
“The Masters of Magic and Beauty,” developed by Cairo-based Red Star Films, will be presented by Red Star Films’ Baho Bakhsh at the Amman International Film Festival and its accompanying Industry Days’ Pitching Platforms.
The film now gains the backing of one of the most commercially successful producers in the Arab world. Badawy has been lauded for helping to shape Egypt’s box-office landscape and has credits of box office hits such as “The Blue Elephant” (Parts I & II), “Kira We El Gin,” “Diamond Dust,” “Beit El Ruby,” “Welad Rizk” (II & III) and Bahebek.
“The Masters of Magic and Beauty” marks the debut feature of Jad Chahine, whose short “The Call of the Brook” was selected for the Cannes Film Festival’s Cinef competition. Chahine also penned the script.
Described as a haunting blend of mythology and family drama, the story follows a couple whose dreams of parenthood are shattered by a mystical ritual, forcing their daughter Narguis to embrace her supernatural destiny amidst love, betrayal and a cursed fate.
The film, keeping its cast under wraps, is co-produced by Square Media Production and has attracted industry attention during its developmental stage, winning key funding and prizes from AFAC, CineGouna and Lagoonie Film Production.
Badawy’s partnership is expected to lend commercial credibility and enhance the film’s regional and international visibility.
Explaining his artistic ambitions with the project, Chahine tells Variety: “I grew up surrounded by caution and tradition, yet what stayed with me were the folktales that broke the rules. This film is my way of honoring that inner tension: between fear and freedom, obedience and imagination.”
Founded in 2014, Red Star Films has built a formidable reputation with a portfolio spanning over 40 acclaimed shorts, features, and documentaries, many of which have premiered at top festivals including Cannes (“Goodbye Julia”), El Gouna (“Photocopy”) and Berlin (“The Tale of Daye’s Family”). In “The Masters of Magic and Beauty,” Red Star has its most ambitious project to date.
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