Amr Saad's “The Goat” Gets Release Date

Following a successful festival circuit the world over reaping multiple awards, Italian director Ilaraia Borreli’s feature narrative “The Goat” will be released in Egyptian cinemas on September 18.

Making waves since its world premiere at the Rome Film Festival, followed by the MENA premiere at the 6th El Gouna Film Festival, “The Goat” received rave reviews by international journalists and film critics. Variety’s writer Nick Vivarelli described the film as “a rare, if not unique, case of Arab Production”, for addressing a rarely tackled theme in Arab cinema.

 “The Goat” won several awards; namely, Best Original Story at the Swedish International Film Festival (SIFF) 2023; Best Women’s Film at the 4th Dimension Independent Film Festival 2023; Best Film on Women, Best International Feature Film, and Best Women Director at the INDO French International Film Festival 2023; Best Actress, Best Screenplay and a Special Mention at the Life Beyond Life Film Festival 2023; Best of Show at the Female Eye Film Festival 2024; Best Director at the Toronto International Women Film Festival 2024; and Best Indie Film at the Miami Women Film Festival 2024.

The film also received two awards at the Tokyo International Cinema Awards 2024: Best Cinematographer and Best Actress, as well as the Boston Indie Film Festival 2024: Best Cinematographer and Best Youth Actress. 

Following the film’s screening as part of Rome Film Festival’s Alice Nella CITTA, marking the first Egyptian film to compete in the competition, “The Goat” producers announced that the revenues from the Rome screenings will be donated to help children in need through the Action Aid foundation.

“The Goat” is a 90-minute desert adventure filmed entirely in Siwa. 

Written and directed by Italian filmmaker Ilaria Borreli with a theme rarely broached in Arab cinema, the film recounts the coming-of-age story of Hadya, a pregnant orphan who escapes into the vast desert with her loyal goat in search of her father, after becoming the target of a western corporation that seeks control over the sole source of water in her village. 

“The Goat” is a co-production between Egypt’s Agora Media Production and France’s Domedo Productions in collaboration with Italy’s Orange Media and producer Oscar Generale, plus Lebanon’s Cedars Art Production (Sabbah Brothers) and U.S. company Pantheon Entertainment, and with support from Italy’s culture ministry. 

The film features a star-studded cast including Mira Sorvino, John Savage, Amr Saad, Sayed Ragab, Nelly Karim, Fathy Abdel Wahab, and stars 11-year-old Jessica Hossam.