Egyptian Short Film "A Promise to the Sea" to World Premiere at São Paulo Festival

Egyptian short drama "A Promise to the Sea" is set to hold its world premiere at the 35th São Paulo International Short Film Festival, scheduled to take place from August 22-September 1 in Brazil.

In the lead-up to the film’s premiere, film director Hend Sohail revealed what she wanted to achieve with the short saying, “Through this film, I want to tell the story of an extraordinary relationship between a son and his mother. When Zain loses his mother, he refuses to accept this closure and starts to think of another one, leading him to embark on a risky journey, during which he discovers that the world is much bigger than he had previously thought.”

"A Promise to the Sea" stars Nabil Botros Talaan, is lensed by Mostafa El Kashef, edited by Samir Radwan, and produced by "That's A Wrap" Nourhan Yasser and co-producers Younes Medhat, Mohammed Al-Omda, Ahmed El-Naggar, Dina Shokry, and Hussain Hamadi. 

The film’s international sales are handled by MAD World, while its distribution and sales in the Arab-speaking world are handled by MAD Distribution.

"A Promise to the Sea" is Sohail's directorial debut and co-wrote alongside Omar Zinhom. It follows Zain, who, after irrationally deciding to steal his mother’s corpse during the funeral preparations, recklessly drives far from his humble hometown and hits the highway, where he encounters a situation that will change his life forever.

Sohail is an Egyptian director and editor who studied editing at the High Cinema Institute, where she assisted a number of notable directors on several short films and commercials. After graduating, she worked as a director’s producer for esteemed commercial directors, enriching her skills further before pursuing her dream of becoming a director and working on small social media projects and commercials.