MAD Solutions, Film Clinic take MENA rights to Venice-bound ‘Cotton Queen’

EXCLUSIVE: MAD Solutions and Film Clinic Indie Distribution have acquired distribution rights in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to Suzannah Mirghani’s Cotton Queen, ahead of its world premiere at Venice Critics’ Week.

The Sudanese feminist drama will play in competition at Critics’ Week, which begins on August 27, and a theatrical release is planned in early 2026 after a post-Venice premiere at a MENA festival later this year.

Set in a cotton-farming village in Sudan, the story revolves around Nafisa, a teenage girl raised on tales of battling British colonizers as told by her grandmother and village matriarch Al-Sit. But when a young businessman arrives from abroad with a new development plan and genetically engineered cotton, Nafisa becomes the centre of a power play to determine the future of the village. It stirs strength in the teenager to save their cotton fields as well as herself.

It marks the feature directorial debut of Sudanese-Russian filmmaker Mirghani and is based on her 2020 short Al-Sit, which embarked on an extensive festival tour in 2021 and won top prizes at Clermont-Ferrand, AFI Fest and Busan among others.

Reprising their roles from the short are Mihad Murtada as Nafisa and Rabha Mohamed Mahmoud as Al-Sit alongside Talaat Fareed, Haram Bisheer, Mohamed Musa and Hassan Mohi El Din.

The feature is a co-production between Germany’s Strange Bird, France’s Maneki Films, Palestine’s Philistine Films, Egypt’s Film Clinic and MAD Solutions, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Written and directed by Mirghani, the director of photography is Frida Marzouk, who lensed this year’s Cannes Un Certain Regard opener Promised Sky. It is scored by Amine Bouhafa, the composer behind Cannes contenders Aisha Can’t Fly Away and Once Upon A Time In Gaza.

Producers are Caroline Daube and Didar Domehri, and co-producers comprise Annemarie Jacir, Ossama Bawardi, Jessica Khoury, Mohamed Hefzy, Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab.

Hefzy, founder and CEO of Film Clinic, said: “Cotton Queen is another major milestone for Sudanese cinema, but it’s also important for Film Clinic and for Egypt, which served as the film’s shooting location during these troubled times in Sudan’s imminent transition to peaceful democracy.”

“After the success of Al-Sit and the popularity of Goodbye Julia, it’s become clear that there’s a market for authentic Sudanese stories set at home, where the culture and traditions are on full display,” said MAD Solutions founders Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab. “Cotton Queen presents an emotional feminist story rich with that culture and context.”

The project has been through a raft of labs and markets since 2021 including the Doha Film Institute’s talent incubator Qumra, Cairo Film Connection, Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund and won the ArteKino Award at the L’Atelier co-production forum at Cannes in 2022.

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