Egypt Nominates "Happy Birthday" for the Oscars

The Egyptian committee responsible for selecting Oscar-nominated films has chosen "Happy Birthday" to represent the country in the international competition. This decision was made after a special screening of the film for the committee, ahead of its official release in cinemas.

The film stars Nelly Karim, Hanan Motawa, Sherif Salama, and the child Duha Ramadan. It was co-written by Sarah Gohary and her husband, director Mohamed Diab, who also co-produced the film with Ahmed El Desouki, Ahmed Abbas, and Ahmed Badawy, along with American producer Datari Turner and actor-producer Jamie Foxx.

"Happy Birthday" has already achieved significant success. It premiered at the "Tribeca Film Festival" in the United States, where it won three major awards: "Best International Narrative Feature," "Best International Screenplay," and the "Nora Ephron Award for Best Director," which went to Sarah Gohary for her directorial debut. The film is also set to open the eighth edition of the "El Gouna Film Festival" before its commercial release.

The film’s story revolves around "Tuha," a young girl working as a maid for a wealthy family. She develops a strong friendship with "Nelly," the daughter of the house. Although Tuha has never celebrated her own birthday, she goes to great lengths to prepare a special celebration for Nelly, secretly wishing she could experience the joy of a birthday party herself.

Alternative Nomination Scenarios

According to film critic Essam Zakaria, a member of the selection committee, the choice of "Happy Birthday" was made by a majority vote after confirming it met the requirement for a public screening before the September 30 deadline. He noted that if the film fails to meet this commercial release condition, the alternate nominee would be the documentary "Lift Your Eyes to the Sky."

"Lift Your Eyes to the Sky" is an award-winning documentary that won the "Golden Eye" at the "Cannes Film Festival" and the "El Gouna Star" for best documentary. It follows a group of girls in a village in Upper Egypt who form a theatrical troupe to address sensitive social issues like early marriage, domestic violence, and girls' education.

The film "The Search for an Exit for Mr. Rambo," directed by Khaled Mansour, had initially led the voting in the committee's first meeting but was ultimately surpassed by "Happy Birthday."