Venice International Film Festival announced the selection of Egyptian film “Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo” as part of the official selection of the 81st edition, scheduled to take place from August 28th to September 7th.

The film is set to be screened within the Orizzonti Extra section as its World Premiere, through which films that highlight the latest trends in international cinema for young talents are presented.

The selection marks the return of Egyptian Cinema to Venice’s official lineup after a 12-year absence, since the participation of Ibrahim El Batout’s “Winter of Discontent” in the Orizzonti program in 2012.

Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo is Khaled Mansour’s feature-Narrative debut after directing a number of short films that were screened in several international and regional festivals.

It is written by screenwriter Mohamed El-Hosseiny along with Khaled Mansour. Starring rising star Essam Omar, Rakin Saad, Sama Ibrahim and Ahmed Bahaa; the co-founder of the musical band Sharmoofers as his debut acting experience and with special guest stars.

The Film is a drama that tells the story of Hassan (Essam Omar), a young man in his thirties who is forced to confront the fears of his past and goes on to rediscover himself when he embarks a journey on a quest to save his dog and best friend “Rambo” from an unknown fate.

Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo is produced by renowned Producer and Scriptwriter Mohamed Hefzy through Film Clinic and producer Rasha Hosny in her feature film production debut, after having a successful career in film criticism and programming at several international film festivals. Distributed by Film Clinic Indie Distribution Worldwide.

The film received the Visual Identity and DCP Services Award for a post-production project, presented by Creative Media Solutions at the 5th Amman Film Industry Days (AFID) and Amman Project Market. It also received a number of production grants including the Red Sea Film Fund, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) grant for a feature film, and Fonds Image de la Francophoni grant.

The film’s script received a number of development grants, including a feature film development grant from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC), and two development grants from CineGouna Platform.
Furthermore, the film’s script took part in a number of development labs and financing forums, including: (La Fabrique Cinéma programme), supervised by the French Institute and is held as part of Cannes International Film Festival market, Beirut Cinema Platform, film development and production workshop, organized by the Royal Film Commission of Jordan, (Dot on the Map) program, as part of the Cyprus Film Days Festival, and Seen Studio Development Program in Egypt. Additionally, the film’s script participated in a number of film financing markets, such as: Malmö Film Market in Sweden and Durban Film Mart in South Africa.

On another note, The Final Cut program; one of the projects launched by the Venice Production Bridge chose 3 works in progress (out of 7 feature films), produced by Film Clinic and/ or distributed by Film Clinic Indie Distribution in the Middle East. Morad Mostafa’s “Aisha Can’t Fly Away”, Mohamed Siam’s “My Father’s Scent” and Nadim Thabet’s “In This Darkness I See You”.