The film "Foy! Foy! Foy! To represent Egypt in the 96th edition of the Academy Awards, which will be held on March 10, 2024, in the competition for best non-English language film.

The film was announced by film critic Osama Abdel Fattah, a member of the selection committee for the Oscar-nominated Egyptian film.

The film "Foy! Foy! Foy!" is inspired by the true story of a number of Egyptian youth who claimed to have lost sight to participate in an international sports competition and then emigrate outside the country, and the work written and directed by Omar Helal, who presents his first feature film, and the artist Mohamed Farrag succeeded in conveying the state of tension experienced by the hero who claims to be blind.

"Foy voy voy" is a Spanish term used in the sport of bellball for the blind, which is used in the context of the film's suspense in a highly humane event that discusses irregular migration.

The film is produced by Mohamed Hefzy and co-stars Nelly Karim, Bayoumi Fouad, Taha Desouki and Lubna Wans.

"White Lies" from Morocco

Meanwhile, the Moroccan Film Centre nominated Asma al-Mudarir's "White Lies", a co-production with Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, to compete for the Best Non-English Language Film award at the Oscar.

The selection of the film came unanimously by the committee, which includes seven prominent names in the field of cinema, and is chaired by director Narges Najjar.

"White Lies" was screened in the "Un Certain Regard" section of the last Cannes Film Festival, in addition to its participation in many international events.

"Hanging Gardens" from Iraq

The Department of Cinema and Theater at the Iraqi Ministry of Culture has chosen the film "Hanging Gardens" to represent Iraq in the Oscar for best non-English language film.

According to a statement issued by the Department of Cinema and Theater, the nomination came after the success of the film in Arab and international festivals and winning a number of awards, including the "Golden Yusr Award" for the best feature film at the second session of the Red Sea Festival in Saudi Arabia.

Directed by Ahmed Yassin Al-Daraji and starring Jawad Al-Shakarji and Wissam Diaa, "Hanging Gardens" offers a very sweet cinematic experience through two brothers who work collecting metal and plastic from the landfill, known as the hanging gardens of Babylon, and one of them finds a doll in the US Army garbage dump, and insists on keeping it, which threatens his relationship with his brother, and the conflict flares up.

Poster of the film "Hanging Gardens" (Al Jazeera)

"Daughters of Olfa" from Tunisia

On the first of September, the National Center for Cinema and Image in Tunisia nominated the film "Banat Olfa" directed by Kaouther Ben Hania to represent Tunisia for the same award, and the reasons for choosing the film were stated that it complies with all the appropriate criteria for the nomination rules published by the Academy of Oscars, thus competing Kaouther Ben Hania for the award that she was nominated for before with her film "The Man Who Sold His Back."

The film "Banat Olfa" is inspired by a true story, where Kaouther Ben Hania combines the style of documentary and drama in her experience, presenting the character "Olfa", a mother with 4 daughters, each with a different story, and the film stars Tunisian actress Hend Sabri.