Egypt Selects “Voy! Voy! Voy!” as Oscars Submission

Egypt has picked Egyptian commercial director Omar Hilal’s “Voy! Voy! Voy!” as its submission for the best international feature category at the 2024 Oscars.

“The film “Voy Voy Voy” is the Egyptian film nominated to compete for the Oscar for Best International Film... with a majority vote of the selection committee, which I was honored to participate in, congratulations to all the crew, ” film critic Fayza Hindawi, a member of the Oscar entry selection committee, wrote on Facebook. 

"This was after it won the majority of votes among a shortlist that included the following films: 1- Wish Fi Wish, 2- 19 B, 3- The House of the Ruby, 4- The Green Door," she added.

The dramedy, which marks Hilal's debut feature, is scripted by Omar Hilal and produced by Hilal and Mohamed Hefzy. It is a collaboration between Vox Cinemas, Film Clinic, and Image Nation Abu Dhabi.

Inspired by true-life events, "Voy! Voy! Voy!" features an ensemble cast including stars such as Nelly Karim, Mohamed Farag, Bayoumi Fouad, Taha Desouky, Amgad El Hagar, and Mohamed Abdel Azeem.

The film follows Hassan, a security guard living an impoverished life with his mother who dreams of traveling and living abroad. One day he stumbles on the sport of blind football and decides to pose as a visually impaired man to join a team close to playing a World Cup tournament in Europe.

On the journey, he crosses paths with several characters, an attractive young journalist who starts to take an interest in the team as he takes an interest in her, a middle-aged coach looking for an opportunity, and his two best friends.

Hassan goes to unimaginable lengths to be with the team and not miss out on Europe, hoping that this will provide their ticket to a life with more opportunity.