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Egypt Today
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Egypt Today
'Thank You for Banking With Us' Wins Two Awards at Malmö and Beirut Festivals
'Thank You for Banking With Us' won two awards from Lebanon and Sweden. It received the Best Feature Film Award, as part of the International Competition of the 8th Beirut International Women Film Festival. Additionally, it won the Best Script Award for writer and director Laila Abbas at the 15th Malmö Arab Film Festival in Sweden. Producer Shahinaz Al-Akkad, who co-produced and distributed the film, expressed her gladness for winning two awards from major festivals in Lebanon and Sweden, as well as receiving positive feedback during its latest screenings in multiple countries, such as Egypt, KSA, and the UAE. It has also participated in several festivals across the world. She added, 'I was glad to take part in this work, for it presents a deeply personal story with a global impact. Basically, it sheds light on the inequality that women face in light of multiple legal systems. It is found all over the world. Indeed, this is the role of cinema; it presents these arguments in a special language to reach the whole world. That's why the film achieved numerous successes in the festivals in which it was screened'. Recently, the film won multiple awards, including: Best Feature Film in the Ajyal Jury Competition, and Silver Alexander Award from Thessaloniki Film Festival in Greece, as Best Director in 'Meet the Neighbors' Competition. Moreover, it received the Best Arab Feature Film Award, along with "Who Do I Belong To", at El Gouna Film Festival. "Thank You for Banking With Us" is written and directed by Laila Abbas, starring Yasmine Al-Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El-Basha, Ashraf Barhoum, and Adam Khattar. It tells the story of two sisters whose father passes away leaving a large sum of money. Together, they try to reach a perfect plan to escape with the money before their brother figures it out, as he is legally entitled to receive half of the inheritance. The film is a co-production between Shahinaz Al-Akkad's Lagoonie Film Productions, Palestine Cinema Days founder and artistic director Hanna Atallah and Ronza Kamel, through August Films, as well as Roshanak Behesht Nedjad's In Good Company Films.
Broadcast Pro
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Broadcast Pro
‘Thank You For Banking With Us!' wins top honours at Malmö and Beirut Festivals
The film, directed by Laila Abbas, is an incisive portrayal of two sisters navigating the complexities of patriarchal laws and the broader political tensions of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The Palestinian film Thank You For Banking With Us! has grabbed major awards on the international festival circuit, earning Best Screenwriter for filmmaker Laila Abbas at the Malmö Arab Film Festival and Best Fiction Feature at the Beirut International Women Film Festival in Lebanon. Written, directed and produced by Abbas through her Ramallah-based company Young Oak Productions, the film is a joint German-Palestinian production that delves into themes of female empowerment and familial struggle. It follows the story of sisters Mariam and Noura, who, after the death of their father, hatch a plan to claim a large inheritance, determined to bypass their brother's legal claim to half of the estate. Laila Abbas describes the film as a tribute to the strength of womanhood and the power of solidarity among women. 'It's a story about sisters who, having endured their own tragedies and heartbreaks, come together to become stronger,' she said. Thank You For Banking With Us! is co-produced by Hanna Atallah of Palestine Cinema Days and Roshanak Behesht Nedjad of Berlin's In Good Company Films. International sales and distribution are handled by MAD World, while MAD Solutions and Lagoonie Film Production—based in Cairo and Riyadh—are also on board as co-producers. The project has garnered substantial support throughout its development. It received four $10,000 grants from ART, Cedars Productions, O Three Productions and Metafora through the El Gouna Film Festival in 2018. It also won the In-Development Award from the CineGouna Platform and secured backing from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, the Doha Film Institute's Qumra 2023 initiative, and various German film funds, including Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. Additionally, it benefited from the Hubert Bals Plus Europe fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam and was among the recipients of the Red Sea Fund's third cycle.
