"Saffah Al-Tagamoa" Is Back in Cinemas

Egyptian actor Ahmed El Fishawy's star-studded film "The Fifth Settlement Murderer" ("Saffah Al-Tagamoa") is back in Egyptian cinemas after censorship edits, following swift withdrawal.

Egypt's censorship board, headed by Abdel Rahim Kamal, granted the producing company permission to screen the film after deleting scenes that violated censorship instructions and raising the age rating to 18+.

During the 2026 Eid al-Fitr movie marathon, “Saffah Al-Tagamoa” premiered in Egyptian cinemas on 19 March, drawing notable audience interest despite a limited rollout, only to be abruptly withdrawn within hours. despite the film having completed all regulatory approvals.

The reason behind the ban is attributed to the current script not matching the script approved by the board and for containing violence scenes that they deemed it to be a violation of the licensing conditions.

The decision came despite the film's strong box office performance on its opening day and just three days after receiving its screening license.

In roughly a quarter-day of screenings, effectively two post-iftar showings, the film grossed EGP 564,643 on its first day, with a total of 3,692 tickets sold across 43 cinemas nationwide.

Written and directed by Mohamed Salah Al-Azab and produced by Ahmed El Sobky, the film features El Fishawy playing Karim Selim, known in the media as the Saffah Al-Tagamoa.

Rounding out the cast are Cynthia Khalifeh, Mariam El Gendy, Lina Sophia, Entsar, Sabrien, Faten Saeed, Aya Selim, and Jessica Hossam.

Dubbed "the Fifth Settlement Murderer", in connection with a luxurious gated community on the outskirts of Cairo where he lived and killed his victims, Selim, a 36-year-old man and holder of a US passport, admitted during interrogation in May 2024 that he killed an unidentified number of women, other than the three whose bodies were discovered earlier that month.

In the next weeks, the bodies of the women were discovered separately, each unclothed in deserted areas in provinces outside Cairo, as their clothes were extracted in other faraway areas afterward.

During interrogation, the suspect confessed that he knew his victims online, some of whom he claimed were courtesans. He asked them to come over to his home, where he performed unusual sexual activities with them before he forced the women to consume drugs and killed them.

The suspect acquired a college degree from the most prestigious university in Egypt, the American University in Cairo, and had worked as a teacher at an international school before he quit his job. He created a TikTok channel where he taught American English.