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Abu Bakr Shawky’s drama “The Stories” — which is inspired by how the director’s Egyptian father and Austrian mother began their love affair as pen pals — has been selected as Egypt’s entry for the Academy Award for best
international feature film.
When Shawky’s father Ahmed was an aspiring pianist in Cairo in 1967, he became pen-pals with a young Austrian woman named Liz, who is Shawky’s mother. The film spans from the late ’60s to the ’80s, and depicts life in his native country during that period from the cross-cultural prism that has formed his vision as an artist.
Shawky made an international splash with his first feature, “Yomeddine,” which had the rare distinction of making the competition cut for Cannes in 2018. He followed up with Saudi-set travel movie “Hajjan,” which premiered at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival in 2023.
“The Stories,” which is written and directed by Shawky, is toplined by British-Egyptian actor Amir El-Masry (“The Crown”), Austria’s Valerie Pachner (“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”) and Egyptian star Nelly Karim (“Voy! Voy! Voy!”). The film is produced by Julie Viez, Mohamed Hefzy, Alexander Glehr, Johanna Scherz, Shahinaz El Akkad and Ahmed Badawy. The production companies involved are Cinenovo, Film Clinic, Lagoonie Film Production, Film Square, Shofha Productions, Film AG, Fox in the Snow and Wrong Men.
“The Stories” world premiered at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in 2025, went on to win the Golden Tanit for best film at the Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia and also played at the Red Sea fest last December.
The shortlist for the 2027 Oscar nominations will be announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Dec. 15, with the final selection revealed on Jan. 21. The 99th Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on March 14 in Los Angeles.
