Sawah

Samir’s (Karim Kassem) dream to take part in a prestigious DJ championship in Brussels is shattered to pieces when his flight is redirected to Luxembourg because of a major strike in Belgium. The real adventures begins when he loses all his papers and gets mistaken for a refugee. The colourful film shows DJ Skaarab’s adventures and new encounters on the way to recover his identity.

  • Adolf El Assal
    Director
    The Notorious Guys
  • Adolf El Assal
    Writer
    The Notorious Guys
  • Dennis Foon
    Writer
    Life, Above All
  • Sirvan Marogy
    Writer
  • Adolf El Assal
    Producer
    The Notorious Guys
  • Alexandra Hoesdorff
    Producer
    Souvenir
  • Désirée Nosbusch
    Producer
    Souvenir
  • Karim Kassem
    Key Cast
    "Samir"
    Rosewater
  • Eric Kabongo
    Key Cast
    "Daniel"
    Willkommen bei den Hartmanns
  • Jean-Luc Couchard
    Key Cast
    "Zepp"
    Dikkenek
  • Mourade Zeguendi
    Key Cast
    "Ramzy"
    Les Barons
  • Stéphane Bissot
    Key Cast
    "Nadia"
    L'enfant
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Drama
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 27 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 15, 2019
  • Country of Origin:
    Luxembourg
  • Country of Filming:
    Belgium, Egypt, Luxembourg
  • Language:
    Arabic, English, French
  • Shooting Format:
    Arri Alexa
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:35
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Luxembourg City Film Festival
    Luxembourg
    Luxembourg
    March 15, 2019
    World Premiere
  • Arab Film Festival
    Rotterdam
    Netherlands
    March 27, 2019
    Dutch Premiere
    Opening Film
  • Mooov Film Festival
    Bruges
    Belgium
    April 27, 2019
    Belgian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Beijing International Film Festival
    Beijing
    China
    April 14, 2019
    Asian Premiere
    In Competition (Forward Future)
Distribution Information
  • Wady Films
    Country: Luxembourg
    Rights: All Rights
  • Film Clinic
    Country: Egypt
Director Biography - Adolf El Assal

After graduating with a MA in Filmmaking from Kingston University in the United Kingdom, Adolf El Assal won his spurs while working on several video clips and TV shorts, and worked as a producer on Divizionz (2008) which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and went on to be selected at over 100 festivals. He has since directed a couple of short films including the award-winning La Fameuse Route… (2011) and Mano de Dios (2011). He completed his first feature, The Notorious Guys in 2014. Sawah (2019) is his latest feature film.

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Director Statement

Director Adolf El Assal who was born in Egypt and raised in Luxembourg, wanted to share his personal experience: “While growing up, I was part of a very multi-cultural and cosmopolitan society. I always wanted to tell a story of a protagonist who lands by mistake in Luxembourg, just as my parents did.” The film took five years to complete. With this drama comedy film, the director wants to show a different side of Luxembourg that many people do not know about.