Mahfouz

Directed by Mohamed Al-Saady

"Set in a fictional version of the 1960s, the 13-minute short film follows a mysterious boy named Mahfouz, who is found abandoned near a mosque by a well-off family. Despite his silence about his origins, they choose to adopt him. Years later, Mahfouz grows into a well-adjusted young man and falls in love with the daughter of the man who raised him. But when he asks for her hand, long-buried social prejudices resurface, branding him as an outsider with no lineage. The father, under the guise of a work mission, sends Mahfouz away—only to marry off his daughter to someone else in his absence."