Helmed by Egyptian filmmaker Sarah Goher, the film tells the story of an eight-year-old maid in Cairo determined to ensure her affluent friend’s birthday celebration is a success.
El Gouna Film Festival has announced an additional screening of Happy Birthday, the Egyptian film directed by Sarah Goher, scheduled for today, October 22, at 9:00 PM in the Audimax Hall. The decision follows the strong audience response to the film’s first two screenings and reflects the festival’s commitment to allowing more viewers to experience one of the most celebrated works in this year’s Egyptian and Arab cinema lineup.
The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, New York, where it achieved significant success and won three major awards — Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay — before being officially selected to represent Egypt in the Academy Awards’ Best International Feature Film category.
Happy Birthday was screened as the opening film of the current edition of El Gouna Film Festival, under the Official Selections Out of Competition section, and received a warm audience reception. The premiere was attended by most of the film’s creators, including director Sara Gohar, filmmaker and writer Mohamed Diab, and members of the cast — marking its first screening in the Middle East and Africa. It was a collective celebration of the new wave of Egyptian cinema, which blends deep human sensitivity with artistic vision.
The film tells the story of Touha, a young girl working as a maid in the home of a wealthy Cairo family. Her harsh daily life becomes intertwined with the birthday celebration of the homeowner’s daughter, in a poignant intersection of innocence and pain, childhood dreams and harsh social realities. Through the child’s eyes, the film paints a moving portrait of a society where class divisions coexist amid striking contrasts.
The cast includes Nelly Karim, Hanan Motawie, Hanan Youssef and child actors Doha Ramadan and Khadija Ahmed. The film was written by Sara Gohar and Mohamed Diab and directed by Sara Gohar in her first feature-length film.
Sara Gohar is also one of the key participants in the CineGouna Stars Rising Programme, further cementing her position as one of the most promising new voices in contemporary Arab cinema.
This third screening offers festival audiences an opportunity to experience a profound Egyptian cinematic work that reaffirms the power of film to unite artistic beauty with human purpose.
