Whispers from the Other Side
About the Film
After her mother’s death, seven-year-old Kanaria, mute since birth and emotionally withdrawn, is forced to meet her estranged father, Ibrahim, for the first time. Reluctant and distant, Ibrahim agrees out of obligation rather than care. Kanaria accepts the journey on one condition: that he helps her find a “magical” house where she believes she can see her mother again. Traveling together across the desert, they move as strangers toward a forgotten village where streets have no names and the house seems to have disappeared. Tension grows as Ibrahim struggles to connect and Kanaria grows increasingly restless. Yet in the silences and shared moments of the journey, their guarded relationship begins to shift, leading Kanaria toward an unexpected and deeply human discovery.
Country(s): Egypt, Sweden
Production company: Hassala Films
Coproduction Company: B-RETTA FILM
Runtime: 25 min
Director Nadine Salib
Nadine Salib is an emerging Egyptian filmmaker with over sixteen years of experience in cinema and film studies. Since earning her BA in Cinema from IAMS in 2006, she has worked extensively as a director, writer, assistant director, and film tutor. Beginning her career as a first assistant director, she has collaborated on numerous acclaimed feature films and shorts, including In the Last Days of the City, Goodbye Julia, and The Settlement, as well as several projects currently in post-production. Salib made her directorial debut in 2012 with the award-winning short documentary Fagr (Dawn), followed by her first feature-length documentary Um Ghayeb (Mother of the Unborn) in 2014, which received major international awards at IDFA and the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. Since 2015, she has taught film at institutions such as the Jesuit Film School and the British University in Egypt. Her debut fiction feature, The Land Beyond, is currently in development and has already received prestigious international grants.
Producer Mohamed Rashad
Mohamed Rashad (Writer, Director, Producer) was born in Egypt and began his filmmaking career in 2005. He wrote and directed two short fiction films, “From Afar” (2005) and “Maxim” (2007). Afterward. Along with Hala Lotfy and other filmmakers, he co-founded the independent production company Hassala Films. In 2016, Rashad completed his first feature documentary, “Little Eagles”, which premiered at the Dubai International Film Festival (2016 – Official Selection). Rashad completed his first fiction feature film, The Settlement, which was part of the First Feature Competition at the Berlinale Perspectives (2025). As a producer In 2019, he produced the feature documentary “The Profession”, directed by Ramez Youssef. The film was screened at several Arab film festivals. In 2021, Rashad produced “Behind a Transparent Cement Barrier” by Amr Baiomy, which was selected for the Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts (2021 – Official Selection).and he is currently working as an associate producer, alongside producer Hala Lotfy, on Nadine Salib’s first feature film, The Land Beyond.
Coproducer Fady Gamal Atallah
Fady Gamal Atallah is a Swedish-Egyptian film producer and director, and the co-founder of B-RETTA FILM based in Stockholm. He began his filmmaking career in 2010, studying film independently in Cairo, where he directed several short films, including Oil: The Three Appearances (Jury Prize at CNFF) and Ra (premiered at the Raindance Film Festival). He later moved to Sweden, where he studied at Stockholm Film School, completed an MA in Filmmaking, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Film. As a producer, Fady has produced and co-produced multiple projects, including the feature film My Father’s Scent, which received an award from the Swedish Film Institute at the MAFF platform in 2022. His projects in development have received recognition from institutions such as the Doha Film Institute, Cairo Film Connection, the Sardegna Film Commission, and Film i Skåne.