The film is currently in pre-production, with principal photography set to begin on November 14 in Cairo.
After a three-year absence from cinema, Egyptian superstar Ahmed Helmy is making his return to the big screen in His Weakest Creatures, the latest feature from director Omar Hilal. The film marks the first-ever on-screen collaboration between Helmy and Hend Sabry, two of the Arab world’s most celebrated and internationally recognised actors, in what promises to be one of the most significant Arab film releases of the year.
Produced by Film Clinic and Front Row Filmed Entertainment, known for Netflix’s Arabic adaptation of Perfect Strangers, alongside Arabia Pictures and B Square, the film brings together a powerhouse production team behind some of the region’s most successful titles. B Square, led by producer Ahmad Badawi, adds to the lineup following its major box office hits Welad Rizk 3, Kira & El Gin and El Ruby House.
Ahmed Helmy takes on one of the most complex roles of his career. He plays a principled zoologist working in Cairo’s historical Giza Zoo. The story unfolds in 2007, when Cairo’s historic Giza Zoo, now undergoing a major transformation, had long fallen from its former splendor. Within its crumbling enclosures, a devoted zoologist fights to uphold his values amid dwindling resources and quiet institutional decay. At home, he faces mounting pressures: a modest income that barely sustains his family, and the strain of an unexpected pregnancy threatening to tip them into crisis. As he witnesses the suffering of the animals he’s sworn to protect, he begins to see his own family mirrored in their captivity trapped by circumstance and yearning for freedom. When a wealthy visitor offers to “adopt” surplus animals from the zoo, he is drawn into a wrenching moral dilemma that tests the limits of integrity, sacrifice, and love.
Hend Sabry brings emotional precision and intensity to the role of a mother navigating faith, fear and survival. Her on-screen pairing with Helmy marks a long-awaited and historic meeting of two Arab cinema icons at the height of their craft.
At the helm is Omar Hilal, the visionary director behind Voy! Voy! Voy, Hilal’s first collaboration with Film Clinic .The film was Egypt’s submission to the Academy Awards, and grossed over $6m across the region, becoming one of the most inventive Arab films in recent memory, now inspiring multiple international remakes.
“His Weakest Creatures is one of the most ambitious projects we’ve ever undertaken,” said Mohamed Hefzy, Founder and CEO of Film Clinic. “This partnership unites producers who are not only commercially sharp but deeply committed to stories that resonate far beyond our region.”
Gianluca Chakra, CEO of Front Row Filmed Entertainment, added: “This story shines a light on animal welfare, a topic rarely explored in Arab cinema but ultimately, it’s about humanity: the empathy, choices, and resilience that define us.”
Director Omar Hilal concluded: “Growing up in Cairo, the Giza Zoo was both a place of wonder and quiet tragedy. His Weakest Creatures captures that tension between beauty and decay, love and loss. I’m grateful to have partners who share a passion for fearless, meaningful storytelling.”
Blending dark comedy, drama and suspense, His Weakest Creatures is a sharp allegory of love, survival and moral compromise, culminating in an unexpected finale.
Omar Hilal is represented by 75East Management & Production.
The film is currently in pre-production and principal photography commences this coming November 14 in Cairo, Egypt.
