Arab Producers & Distributors Debate Festival Quotas & Distribution Challenges — Berlin Film Festival

deadline.com:

Producers and film professionals from the Arab region discussed their perception of a “quota system” at festivals as well as distribution challenges, during a panel held by the World Cinema Fund in conjunction with Berlinale Talents.

Alaa Karkouti, CEO of Arab film distribution outfit Mad Solutions, suggested that festivals had a “quota” for different regions outside of Europe, including the Arab region. “While there’s improved space for Arab films at festivals like Cannes and Venice, I always feel like there’s a kind of quota,” said Karkouti. “Like here, media have asked me, ‘how do you feel with Yunan in the main competition?’ This question is asked with good intentions but you’ll never ask that of a European film.” Comprised of five subsidiaries, Karkouti’s Cairo-headquartered Mad Solutions is involved with film sales, management and marketing for Arab films and runs operations in the UAE, Jordan and Lebanon, among others.

Karkouti was referring to Berlin competition film Yunan, which Mad Solutions also reps for MENA region sales. The feature is written and directed by Ameer Fakher Eldin, and is a co-production between Germany, Canada, Italy, Palestine, Qatar, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The discussion was part of the “World Cinema Fund (WCF) Day” event, which also served to highlight five WCF-supported films in the Berlinale 2025 program, including competition title The Message, Berlinale Special film Ancestral Visions of the Future, as well as The Settlement, Khartoum and Minimals in a Titanic World.