Lagoonie Film Production (Producer Shahinaz Elakkad) and Rise Studios collaborate on the film CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR, which will start production at the end of October.
The film stars Selim Mostafa, a young actor who became famous for his role as Younis in the TV series WHY NOT?! (LEEH LAA?!) The cast also features some of the biggest names, including veteran actress Sawsan Badr, Ghada Adel, Naglaa Badr, Sherif Salama, Entsar, Ayten Amer, Eman Elsayed, Mohammed Tharwat, Ahmed Fathy, Abbas Aboelhassan, Phaedra, Firas Saayed, Mohamed Helmy, Magdy El Bhery, Ahmed Talaat, and Latifa Fahmy; and singer Omar Kamal, who sings in the film as well.
CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR follows an 8-year-old boy who frequently fights with his parents. When his parents fail to keep their promise to take him to the movies, he fights with them, slams the door, and wishes he had different parents. Meanwhile, he heard a thunderstorm and opened the door to discover that his wish had been answered and he now has a new house, a new family, and a new adventure ahead of him.
CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR is produced by Lagoonie Film Production and Rise Studios. It is written by Mohamed Kheidr and Shereen Alaa (Waraq Enab Workshop) and directed by Mostafa Abou Seif.
Founded by producer Shahinaz Elakkad in 2017, Lagoonie Film Production is an Egyptian company that aims to develop the film and TV industry in Egypt and the Arab world by making high-quality films and TV series that address fresh and original topics to put the Arab film and TV industry on the international map.
Lagoonie Film Production has supported a list of trailblazing films that went on to win numerous awards at festivals. The films include “FEATHERS,” by Omar El Zohairy, which reaped 4 global awards, including the Grand Prize and the FIPRESCI award at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as a Special Mention. The films also include AMIRA, by Mohamed Diab, which won three awards at Venice; HUDA'S SALON, a Palestinian film by Hany Abu-Assad; THE ALLEYS, a Jordanian film by Bassel Ghandour; and SHOKA WE SEKINA, a short film starring Menna Shalaby, Eyad Nassar, and Asser Yassin.
These films were featured in several international festivals like Cannes, Carthage, Karlovy Vary, Toronto, Venice, Red Sea, and El Gouna.
Lagoonie’s latest production is Amr Salama’s “BARRA EL MANHAG,” starring Maged El Kedwany and Ruby, which was released in cinemas. The film did well at the box office and got good reviews from both audiences and critics. “BARRA EL MANHAG” was selected for the world premiere at the Red Sea International Film Festival. It also won seven awards in different categories at the Cairo Film Society Festival in 2022, which was a special year for the festival. Based on a general poll of critics, filmmakers, and Cairo Film Society members, “BARRA EL MANHAG” was picked as one of the top seven films of 2021.
The company went on to produce several commercially successful films, like FARQ KHEBRA by Sherif Nagib, “RAS EL SANA,” and the family-comedy film A’AZ EL WELD. Besides films, Lagoonie produced several remarkable TV series, including ANA SHAHIRA ... ANA EL KHA’EN and NEMRA ETNEIN.
Lagoonie Film Production has been keen to support the Arab cinema industry by offering awards to film projects at international film festivals like Toronto, Venice, El Gouna, and Cairo, and managed to make these film projects available on global platforms. It also sponsored several workshops, masterclasses, and panel discussions at several international film festivals.
Lagoonie recently wrapped production on Hani Khalifa's "CAIRO MECCA," starring Mona Zaki, Mohamed Mamdouh, Shereen Reda, Khaled ElSawy, and Mohamed Farrag. Shahinaz is currently getting ready for several projects, including the film A NOSE AND THREE EYES (ANF W THALATH OYOUN), which is based on the novel by the great Egyptian author Ihsan Abdel Quddous, and INSHALLAH A BOY by Amjad Al-Rasheed. INSHALLAH A BOY joined the Final Cut in Venice Workshop, which is part of the 79th Venice International Film Festival. Also, her feature film "ALAM" by Firas Khoury screened at the 47th Toronto International Film Festival. Lagoonie handles the film's distribution in the Arab world.
About Rise Studios
Rise Studios is an entertainment company driving investment in content from regional markets. We support our producers and local talent with investment and sustainable growth. We connect our creative and operational excellence with leading regional and global platforms. We use industry expertise and data intelligence to identify audience needs and desires with precision, driving long-term, diverse and bespoke content investments.