Dubai-based sales company MAD World has acquired worldwide rights to Maja Ajmia Zellama’s Têtes Brûlées, ahead of its world premiere at the Berl
Dubai-based sales company MAD World has acquired worldwide rights to Maja Ajmia Zellama’s Têtes Brûlées, ahead of its world premiere at the Berlinale.
Parent company MAD Solutions has also taken distribution rights for the Middle East and North Africa on the film, which will play in the Generation 14plus strand of the festival in February.
The Belgian film centres on a 12-year-old girl named Eya who has to face the sudden death of her older brother Younès, with whom share shared an inseparable bond. As she grieves, Eya’s draws on her creativity, resilience and the support of Younès’ friends to come to terms with her loss.
The cast mainly comprises non-professional actors in their first roles, led by Safa Gharbaoui, but also includes Mounir Amamra of Cannes award-winner Divines. Further cast includes Mehdi Bouziane, Adnane El Haruati, Saber Tabi, Nicolas Makola, Mehdi Zellama, and Monia Taieb.
Producers are Marc Goyens and Nabil Ben Yadir. The feature is produced by Komoko and co-produced by Quetzalcoatl and 1080 Films. Ben Yadir is the Belgian director of Animals, which won the Fipresci prize at Camerimage and played Tallinn Black Nights in 2021.
Director Ajmia Zellama is a Belgian-Tunisian-Danish director and screenwriter whose 2021 miniature Okht Elmarhoum also dealt with the theme of a teenage girl whose older brother dies, leading her to find support from his friends.
Têtes Brûlées’ reunites producer Goyens with cinematographer Grimm Vandekerckhove and editor Dieter Diependaele, all of which worked on Bas Devos’ Ghost Tropic, which played at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight in 2019, and Devos’ Here, which won the Encounters Award and Fipresci prize at the Berlinale in 2023.
MAD World launched at Cannes in May as a global sales agency dedicated to Arab cinema as well as titles from outside the Middle East with Arab elements.
Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab, founders of parent company MAD Solutions, said acquiring Têtes Brûlées: “Mourning the loss of a loved one is a complicated process no matter where you’re from in the world; but like most things, it gains a up-to-date layer of complexity once you put it in a Middle Eastern context.
“Têtes Brûlées does a great job of highlighting those similarities and differences, fitting in amongst other MAD titles with authentically Arab stories while being undeniably globally appealing and relevant.”
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