ALFILM – Arab Film Festival Berlin
Marwan Hamed “El Set”
Fiction, 2025, 155 mins.
- Film
Arabic /
English /
French /
With English subtitles /
120-180 mins.
A biopic of the grande dame, the legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum (1898–1975), whose fame transcended borders and remains unmatched in her influence across the Arab region, generation after generation, even five decades after her passing. Starring Egyptian superstar Mona Zaki, the film takes its cue from Umm Kulthum’s historic concert in Paris, held a few months after the Arab military defeat of 1967, paying homage to her extraordinary artistic legacy. The narrative shifts across time and place, illuminating how the diva’s life became deeply intertwined with that of a modern postcolonial nation: its ambitions, dreams, and defeats. The film has stirred—and continues to stir—considerable controversy in Egypt, raising questions about the possibilities and limits of representing an icon who is treated by many Egyptians with a reverence befitting a goddess.
With production costs among the highest in the history of Arab cinema, the film recently premiered in Europe at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. ALFILM presents “El Set” in its German premiere.
Dates
Current
Credits
The 17th edition of ALFILM is funded by the Haupstadtkulturfonds and the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion, the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung with financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, the Council of the Arab Ambassadors in association with the Mission of the Arab League, and the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient. In cooperation with HAU Hebbel am Ufer.
Location
HAU1
Stresemannstr. 29, 10963 BerlinThere are two marked parking spots in front of the building. Access to the Parkett by means of a separate entrance with lift when necessary. Barrier-free restroom facilities are available.
