Biography

Marwan Hamed is an Egyptian filmmaker with over 25 years of experience in both cinema and advertising who burst onto the scene with his feature debut THE YACOUBIAN BUILDING (2006), adapted from Alaa Al-Aswany's best-selling novel and written by screenwriter Wahid Hamed. The film, the largest Egyptian production of its time, starred Adel Imam, Youssra, and Nour El-Sherif, premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, and was distributed internationally to great success. Following this, Hamed directed notable films including IBRAHIM LABYAD, THE BLUE ELEPHANT, THE ORIGINALS, DIAMOND DUST, and KIRA & EL GIN, most of which broke box office records. Alongside his film work, he has directed over 400 TV commercials for major brands like Etisalat Egypt, Orange, Banque du Caire, WE, and Ezz Steel. His recent campaigns include the 2025 Ramadan spots for Etisalat and ORANGE 5G, as well as a cultural campaign for the Grand Egyptian Museum. He has also served as a jury member at prominent international film festivals, including Red Sea, El Gouna, Cairo, Montreal, Taormina, and Montpellier, and received the Career Achievement Award at the sixth El Gouna Film Festival, where he led a masterclass and joined the festival's advisory board. Most recently, Hamed completed EL SETT, a biographical drama about the legendary singer Umm Kulthum, known as the 'Star of the East.' The film stars Mona Zaki, Mohamed Farag, Sayed Ragab, Tamer Nabil, and Ahmed Khaled Saleh. Written by Ahmed Mourad, with cinematography by AbdelSalam Mousa, production design by Mohamed Attia, music by Hesham Nazih, editing by Ahmed Hafez, and costumes by Yasmine ElKady, EL SETT brings together some of Egypt's most talented creative voices. now officially the highest-grossing film in the history of Egyptian cinema, with revenues exceeding EGP 110m.