The Egyptian distribution company MAD Solutions has joined the board of directors of a New York distributor – D Street Releasing – as an equal partner. On hold for several years, this move was finalised during a meeting between the heads of the two companies at the Red Sea International Film Festival. It means MAD Solutions, as the Arab world’s leading distributor of short and feature-length independent films, will now also have its films shown in North American cinemas (until now these films were limited to festivals).
Dexter Davies, managing director of the D Street Media Group, explains that beyond the considerable financial interest, “this historic partnership will give U.S. audiences the opportunity to understand our Arab brothers and sisters better through powerful stories. Breaking stereotypes and prejudices is a key part of our mandate, and with the support and resources of MAD Solutions I believe we can achieve that goal.” Maher Diah, co-founder of MAD, agrees whole-heartedly, supporting the idea of offering American cinema-goers different ways of seeing.
The partnership starts this year with 5 films: Daughters of Abdulrahman by Zaid Abu Hamdan, Streams by Tunisian Mehdi Hmili, Barra El Manhag by Egyptian director Amr Salama as well as two Saudi horror film projects, The Last Exorcist by Asim Altokhais and Al Azeef by Mohamed Al-Youssef.
Sources: Broadcast Pro, Screen Daily
