MAD SOLUTIONS
MAD Solutions is the first Pan-Arab independent studio and fully integrative marketing and creative consultancy for the Arab film and Entertainment Industry. Under the umbrella of MAD Solutions, the studio is supported by five pillars: MAD Marketing, MAD Content, MAD Distribution, MAD Culture and MAD Celebrity, which together are helping to usher in an exciting new generation of Arab filmmakers and entertainment talent. MAD Solutions attends at least 20 film festivals (Arab and International), summits, and workshops annually including Cannes, Berlinale, ADFF, DIFF, and many more. Besides its energetic, contemporary approaches to collaborating with their MAD partners, MAD Solutions prides itself on having the most extensive and up-to-date database on the Arab film industry, spanning over 20 years of a rich heritage that is still growing to this day, despite the political and socio-economic challenges. Realizing the potential growth of the film industry in the Gulf States, and the opportunities to hatch a pan-regional strategy, MAD Solutions has expanded to Abu Dhabi, UAE, focusing on the GCC in specific and the Arab world as a whole. Based in twofour54, this has allowed MAD Solutions to become industry partners with the free zone media hub, the incubator of creativity of talent in the region. Twofour54’s vision is to enable the development of world class Arabic media and entertainment content, by Arabs for Arabs, which is in tandem with MAD Solution’s mission and vision.
Alaa Karkouti – Co-founder
Alaa is a renowned Film Analyst and an influential professional within the cinema and entertainment industry in the Arab world for his efforts in assembling complete archives on the economics of filmmaking. He established three cinema magazines, the fourth and latest being the Arab Cinema Magazine. For several years, Karkouti published a list of the 50 most powerful people working in the film business across the Arab world, which is the first list of its kind in the Arab world. As a film analyst, Karkouti regularly publishes about the film business in the Arab World in several worldwide leading Film and Business publications such as; Forbes Middle East, Variety, Screen International and many more.
Abdalla El Chami – Managing Partner
A Lebanese National who was born and raised in Abu Dhabi, Abdallah is a Multimedia and Graphic Design graduate from the American University of Sharjah. Currently, Abdallah is the Managing Partner at MAD Solutions, the Arab world’s first fully integrated film studio, dedicated to the production, promotion and distribution of Arab films in the Arab world and beyond. Abdallah is also the Director of the Arab Cinema Center, the first mobile platform that connects, nurtures, and promotes the Arab film industry, bridging it with local, regional and international festivals, markets and audiences.
Kareem Samy – Marketing Director
A prominent marketer, Kareem Samy has been part of several regional and international film festivals and global markets. Currently, Kareem is the Marketing Director at MAD Solutions and the Manager of the Arab Cinema Center an institution that aims to provide the film-making industry with a professional window to connect with their counterparts from all over the world through a number of events that it organizes.
During his stint at MAD Solutions, which started in 2014, Kareem has been part of a number of international film markets, including; Berlin(IFF), Cannes(FF), Venice(IFF) and Dubai(IFF). During his period, he has publicized several celebrities and directors such as Marwan Hamed, Shereen Reda, and Saba Mubarak and Menna Shalaby. Kareem has also been involved in a plethora of film marketing campaigns for blockbuster films including: Jordan’s Academy Award nominee Theeb, Hepta: The Last Lecture and Diamond Dust.