MY GIRL FRIEND
​​​by Kawthar Younis

17min | Egypt | 2022

Desperate for intimacy, Ali follows his girlfriend’s suggestion that puts their relationship to the test. The plan unfolds unexpectedly when gender roles become blurred. 
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Original Title Sahbety
Year of production 2022
Length 17'
Country Egypt
Shooting Format Digital - 6K
Aspect Ratio 1.66:1
Dialogue Arabic
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Director Kawthar Younis
Producer Sandro Canaan
Co-Producers Khaled Marei, Mohammed Alomda
Production Company Kino, TRI Pictures
Writers Ahmed Essam El Sayed, Kawthar Younis
Cinematographer Seif Eldin Khaled
Editor Khaled Marei
Sound Designers Mohamed Salah, Rami Hussein
Sound Mixing Mohamed Fawzy 
Production Designer Eman Elalby
Costume Designer Yara Sameeh​
Digital Makeup Gehan Sobhey Khalil
Colorist Gehan Sobhey Khalil, Fady Tharwat​
Make-up Artist Marina Osama
Cast Marc Haggar, Ilham Safei El Din, Fadel El Garhi, Sonia Farid
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Website
​Facebook
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Festival selections
Venezia 79 - Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica, Orizzonti Short Films Competition 2022, Italy - World Premiere
Cairo International Film Festival 2022, Egypt - Special Jury Award
MedFilm Festival 2022, Italy 
Passaggi d’Autore: intrecci Mediterranei 2022, Italy
Ningbo Short Film Festival 2022, China ​
Cairo Shorts Film Festival 2022, Egypt - Best Film Award, Best Director Award, Best Actress Award, Best Actor Award
Dublin International Film Festival 2023, Ireland
Luxor African Film Festival​ 2023, Egypt​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Film O’Clock International Festival 2023
Fribourg International Film Festival 2023, Switzerland
FESCAAAL – Festival del Cinema Africano, d’Asia e America Latina 2023, Italy
Roze Filmdagen - The Amsterdam LGBTQ+ Film Festival 2023, Netherlands
Festival International de Films de Femmes 2023, France - Best Short Film Award,  UPEC Jury​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
​Arab Women's Film Festival 2023, Brazil
Stockholm Film Festival Junior 2023, Sweden
ALFILM - Arab Film Festival Berlin 2023, Germany
Gabes Cinema Fen 2023, Tunisia
Malmo Arab Film Festival 2023, Sweden
Festival de Cine Africano 2023, Spain
Zawya Shorts 2023, Egypt - Best Director Award
Akbank International Short Film Festival 2023, Turkey
Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2023, Japan
Shanghai International Film Festival 2023, China
Casablanca Arab Film Festival 2023, Morocco - Best Screenplay Award
Djerba Arab Film Festival ​2023, Tunisia - Best Actress Award for Ilham Safei El Din,  Best Film Award​
Les Nuits Méditerranéennes 2023, France
Zanzibar International Film Festival 2023, Tanzania
Festival du film court en plein air de Grenoble 2023, France
SAFAR Film Festival 2023, UK
Cisterna Film Festival 2023, Italy
​Anonimul International Independent Film Festival 2023, Romania 
Amman International Film Festival 2023, Jordan - Black Iris Award (Best Arab Short Film)
​​Festival cinémas d'Afrique - Lausanne 2023, Switzerland
Festival International du Film de Nancy 2023, France
Fiaticorti Film Festival 2023, Italy
​​Batroun Mediterranean Film Festival 2023, Lebanon
​Festival Internacional de Cine Corto de Cali 2023, Colombia - Best International Short Film Award
​Tripoli Film Festival 2023, Lebanon
​Afrika Film Festival Köln 2023, Germany
Minikino Film Week 2023, Indonesia
​Visioni Corte International Short Film Festival 2023, Italy
​International Short Film Festival of Cyprus 2023
Middle East Now Film Festival 2023, Italy
​Linz International Short Film Festival 2023, Austria
Silicon Valley African Film Festival 2023, USA
Festival Internacional De Cine De Gáldar 2023, Spain - Best Director Award, Best Actor Award for Marc Haggar
​Festival Azyl 2023, Slovakia
​Festival Africlap 2023, France
Festival des Cinémas d'Afrique du Pays d'Apt 2023, France
Olhares do Mediterrâneo - Women's Film Festival 2023, Portugal
​Baku International Short Film Festival 2023, Azerbaijan - Best Film Director Award
Caminhos Film Festival 2023, Portugal
​​Lublin Film Festival 2023, Poland
Rencontres Films Femmes Méditerranée 2023, France
​Cinemamed - Festival Cinéma Méditerranéen de Bruxelles 2023, Belgium
Mashariki African Film Festival 2023, Rwanda
Le Film Camerounais Awards 2023,  Cameroon
​Festival Séquence Court-Métrage 2023, France
​Duhok International Film Festival 2023, Iraq
​For Rainbow - Festival of Cinema and Culture of Sexual and Gender Diversity 2023, Brazil
Sharjah Film Platform 2023, UAE
International Usak Short Film Festival 2023, Turkey
​MENA Film Festival 2024, Canada
Sanfici - Santander Festival Internacional De Cine Independiente 2024, Colombia
​Festival Cinéma d'Alès - Itinérances 2024, France
Afrika Filmfestival 2024, Belgium - Silver YAFMA Fiction Award
Ferfilm Festival 2024, Kosovo
​Alicante Film Festival 2024, Spain
Philosophical Film Festival 2024, Republic of Macedonia - Audience Award
​One Shot Film Festival 2024, Armenia
Festival International du Film Oriental de Genève 2024, Switzerland - Special Mention
Festival Cinema Africano di Verona 2024, Italy
Terre da Film Festival 2024, Italy
Seattle Arab Film Festival 2024, USA
Inventa un Film 2024, Italy - Best Director Award
​​FEMCINE, Festival cine de Mujeres de Santiago de Chile 2024
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Director's Statement
I belong in a society where couples are pushed to extreme measures to express their love for each other.
Sahbety explores how gender constraints are shaping our perspective for our own identity. This film takes an up close look at a couple that are motivated by love and
challenged by conventional gender norms through questioning: What if the tables were turned?

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