Egyptian filmmaker Khaled Mansour just premiered Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo at the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival in California, with support from Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Fund. The film had already garnered positive attention at the 2024 Red Sea International Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival, and is not only a celebratory highlight of Egyptian filmmaking, but equally amplifies Arab storytelling on the world stage. This is also the first Egyptian film to be shown at the Venice Film Festival in 12 years.
Starring Essam Omar, Rakeen Saad, Ahmed Bahaa, Samaa Ibrahim, and the Rambo Brothers, the film’s official description reads: Hassan, his mother, and his beloved dog Rambo are threatened with eviction by their landlord Karem, a car mechanic who wants to use their house to expand his workshop. Rising tensions culminate in a street fight between Karem and Hassan, settled by Rambo when he leaps in and bites Karem in the crotch. Humiliated, Karem promises bloody revenge. Thus begins Hassan’s search for a safe haven for his friend, a journey that will take him into the city’s underbelly, but also into the heart of his own fears, changing him forever. Sparked by a real incident, this is a film about the strong relationship between a man and his dog and a nuanced reflection on everyday violence.
Watch the official trailer below.
One review at ScreenDaily called it, “A quality picture that announces Mansour as a notable talent in Egyptian independent filmmaking.” Adding, “There’s an unpolished rawness to the photography that compliments the downbeat realism of the film’s depiction of Cairo’s nocturnal underbelly.”
According to his IMDB, this is the first feature length film by writer/director Khaled Mansour, his most recent project being a miniseries titled Rawaa Reads, a program explaining books’ historical/artistic contexts for Arab viewers, part of Abu Dhabi Book Fair.