Egypt Nominates Award-Winning Drama ‘Poisonous Roses’ for 2020 Oscars

Egyptian drama, Poisonous Roses/Ward Masmoum, written and directed by debuting director, Ahmed Fawzi Salah, has been chosen as Egypt’s official nomination for the Best Foreign Language Film in the 2020 Oscars.

Based on Ahmed Zaghloul Al-Shiti’s 1990 novel, Saqr’s Poisonous Roses, the film stars brahim El-Nagari, Merihan Magdi, Mahmoud Hemida, Mohamed Berakaa and Safaa El-Toukhy. The story tells of a woman clinging onto her brother, who wants to escape the impoverished Cairo neighbourhood they live in.

Having premiered at the 2018 Rotterdam Film Festival, the film has gone on to be shown in over 20 festivals worldwide, and has picked up several awards including Best Foreign Film from the Diorama International Film Festival in India and three awards at Cairo International Film Festival:  Best Arab Film, the Horizons of Arab Cinema Competition, and the United Nations Population Fund award.

Nominations voting for the 92nd Academy Awards will take place between the 2nd and 7th of January, with the ceremony set to take place on Sunday 9th of February.