Open House Session: Film Industry Business Certificate

Mariam Hamdy

Founder & CEO of Silver Screen Film School

With over 15 years of teaching experience at the American University in Cairo (AUC) and currently serving as a Film Lecturer in the Master’s Program at Babeș-Bolyai University (UBB) in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Mrs. Hamdy specializes in Festival Studies, Film Theory, and Arab cinema. She is an independent filmmaker and dubbing voice artist featured on platforms like Netflix, DreamWorks, and Disney+, voicing iconic characters such as Eep in The Croods.

As a festival organizer and co-founder of the Pasaje International Film Festival in Bistrita, Romania, Mrs. Hamdy empowers youth through workshops and cross-cultural exchange cinema programs, fostering connections and dialogue among emerging filmmakers from diverse cultures. Additionally, she has extensive experience as a film programmer, contributing to the curation of various international festivals. Her expertise also extends to film distribution as a co-founder of Silver Screen Film Distribution, dedicated to bringing international films to broader audiences and expanding market reach.

Mrs. Hamdy is also the founder of Silverscreen Film School in Cluj-Napoca and online. The school aims to empower youth by providing a comprehensive understanding of both the creative and business sides of cinema, and it fosters connections between filmmakers from Egypt and Romania.

For several years, she also served as a film mentor at the I Spark to Impact International Youth Summit in Egypt, where she mentored aspiring young filmmakers, helping them harness their creative potential and develop impactful stories.

Mariam’s expertise spans both the creative and business sides of the film industry, blending artistic expression with marketing and entrepreneurship. Her mission is to support new voices in film, bridge cultures through cinema, and create platforms for meaningful storytelling.

Octavian Dăncilă

Founder, Silver Screen and Senior Film Programmer.

Octavian Dancila is the co-founder of Silver Screen (silverscreen.ro) and Pasaje International Film Festival in Romania (pasajefilmfestival.ro). With over ten years of experience in the film industry and festival programming, he has worked with Transilvania International Film Festival (tiff.ro) and the BFI London Film Festival. He currently serves as a film curator at Cinema Victoria in Cluj-Napoca (cinemavictoria.ro).

Bringing extensive expertise in film distribution and the Romanian market, Octavian holds an MA in Film Programming and Curation from the National Film & Television School in Beaconsfield, UK. He is also an associate professor at Babeș-Bolyai University. In 2022, he played a key role in integrating film education into schools through Ora de Cinema program (oradecinema.tiff.ro).

Ahmed Magdy

Ahmed Magdy is an Egyptian actor, filmmaker, and producer. He is also a Goodwill Ambassador for the (UNFPA) and the (EU) for the Water Initiative Egypt.

Magdy was born in Cairo in 1986 and gratuated from the faculty of Law at ain Shams University. He then joined the Tamy Theatre Group and worked as an actor and assistant director for three years before starting his career as a director. He has made several short fiction and documentary films that have won numerous local and international awards.

His first feature film, "No One There," 2019 had its world premiere at the 40th Cairo International Film Festival. The film was directed, written, and shot by Magdy, and it also had its international premiere at the Marrakech Internation Film Festival, where it received critical acclaim. Lebanese critic Mohamed Roda said that "No One There" is the best Arab film of the year.

The film has also been screened at several other international and regional festivals, where it has received praise.

Magdy has also starred in many distinguished series and cinematic works. He also contributes to various environmental and development awareness campaigns. Magdy has been very active and diverse in his artistic work in recent years. He plans to produce various artistic works through his production company, Garage Art Production.

Meriame Deghedi

An arts and culture marketing professional, Meriame Deghedi has a penchant for disseminating the diversity of the cinematic art works and films d’auteur to the general public through different means; production, distribution, and education in the visual image actions. She studied Cinema in Lumière-Lyon 2 University. Her work at Shellac, a distribution and production company, encouraged her to pursue a master’s degree in Dissemination of Arts and Knowledge Through Cinema. Through her career, she had the chance to be part of the robust environment of film festivals and film events (FIDLab, Cinemed, ImageSingulières, Cairo Industry Days..etc).

Following her motivation to promote non-commercial films and make them accessible to the general public, she earned a second master’s degree in Arts & Culture Marketing, and returned to Cairo, Egypt, to pursue a Film Distribution career in her homeland. In 2016, she joined MAD Solutions where she oversees and implements the distribution and marketing strategies of MAD’s titles across theatrical and non-theatrical platforms, with a focus on international sales and acquisitions. In 2019, Meriame was appointed Manager of the 6th Cairo Film Connection at Cairo Industry Days, to be held on the sidelines of the 41st Cairo International Film Festival and was Head of Cairo Industry Days in 2021, while heading sales and acquisitions at MAD Solutions. After a decade in defending the independent cinema, it’s was time for her to see the other side of the business, where she handles sales and theatrical distribution for Universal and Warner Brothers films in Egypt and Levant, under Majid Al Futtaim.

Kawthar Younes

Kawthar Younis is a Cairo-based filmmaker with 14 years of experience, known for her human-centered storytelling and impactful narratives.

Her debut feature, A Present from the Past (2016), set records in Egypt’s art house cinema, and her short film Sahbety (My Girl Friend) (2022) was the first Egyptian short to compete at the Venice International Film Festival.

In 2024, she directed Maqsoum, her first step into the mainstream industry, followed by the Ramadan 2025 hit TV series 80 Bako for MBC, celebrated for its relatable characters and authentic portrayal of women’s experiences.

As co-founder of Rawiyat – Sisters in Film, Kawthar continues to support female filmmakers while crafting globally recognized stories.

Yasmeen Mokhtar

Head of Cinema Development and Marketing

Yasmeen Mokhtar is Zawya’s Head of Cinema Development and Marketing. Since joining the team in 2017 as social media executive, she’s taken a central role in coordinating, managing, and promoting Zawya’s festivals, programs, and events over the years. In her current position she explores cinema development initiatives to expand Zawya’s reach through local partnerships.



Know more about Zawya Cinema - سينما زاوية: 

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Muhammad Taymour

An Egyptian film producer, director, and video artist born in 1985. His film work is usually characterized as personal and intimate, yet many elements in his films are relatable to international audiences. Time, memory, nostalgia, and static images are all elements that are evident in his work.

From 2018 to 2020, Taymour worked as a producer with “Fig Leaf”, a production company based in Alexandria. In 2020, he produced the short film, “I am afraid to forget your face/ ستاش ر ” which won the prestigious Palme d’Or award in Festival De Cannes – Short Film Competition. This Palme d’Or award marks the first Palme d'Or award for an Egyptian film in the festival’s history.

In August of 2021, Taymour founded the ‘Egyptian Film Producers Club’ (EFPC), which aimed to gather all the aspiring film producers and create a space for them to share their experiences through the club's activities. The club has also created educational programs for upcoming generations of film producers in Egypt.

In 2022, he founded ‘CHAOS FILMS, an Egyptian production company based in Egypt with a focus on producing high-quality films, specifically short films. The company is currently producing it’s 4rth short film.”

Beside teaching several film production workshops since 2019, Taymour is currently working as a Film Production Lecturer in the School of Design & Media in The Knowledge Hub Universites, Coventry University branch in Egypt and previously was working from 2022 - 2024 as a Lecturer & Module Leader in the Faculty of Mass Communication, Film & Media Studies in the British University in Egypt (BUE) Since 2023, Taymour is working as the CineGouna Market Head in El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt