Egypt’s Ahmed Helmy and Hend Sabri, two of the Arab world’s most bankable stars, will appear on screen together for the first time in the upcoming Cairo-set feature film “His Weakest Creatures,” directed by Omar Hilal, the Egyptian director of the blockbuster film “Voy! Voy! Voy.”
In His Weakest Creatures, Helmy, known locally for blockbuster comedies such as Wahed Tani and Ex-Large, takes on a role with dramatic weight, playing a principled zoologist working at the dilapidated Giza Zoo in Cairo in 2007.
“As he witnesses the suffering of the animals he is sworn to protect, he begins to see his own family trapped in circumstances and yearning for freedom,” the project’s synopsis reads. When a wealthy visitor offers to “adopt” a surplus animal from a zoo, the zoologist is “drawn into a stark moral dilemma that tests the limits of honesty, sacrifice, and love.”
Sabri, who starred in Netflix’s Arab original Finding Ora and recently appeared in Oscar-nominated director Kawsar Ben Hania’s Four Daughters, plays a “mother navigating faith, fear and survival,” the synopsis states, adding that the film will blend elements of dark drama, comedy and suspense.
Principal photography on His Weakest Creatures is scheduled to begin on November 14th in Cairo.
The high-end Arab film is being produced by Egypt’s Film Clinic and Dubai-based Front Row Filmed Entertainment, which previously collaborated on the hit Arabic adaptation of the Italian drama Perfect Strangers, Netflix’s first local-language original. Other producers on the animal welfare drama include Arabia Pictures, which previously teamed up with Film Clinic and Front Row on the Saudi romantic comedy A Matter of Life and Death. Rounding out the production roster for “Weakest Creatures” is B Square, led by Ahmad Badawi, who has produced such Egyptian hits as “Kira & El Jin” and “El Ruby House.”
“‘His Weakest Creatures’ is one of the most ambitious projects we have ever undertaken,” Film Clinic founder and CEO Mohamed Hefzy said in a statement. “This partnership unites producers who are not only commercially astute, but also deeply committed to stories that resonate far beyond our region.”
Gianluca Chakra, CEO of Front Row Filmed Entertainment, commented: “This story shines a light on animal welfare, a theme rarely explored in Arab cinema. But ultimately it is about humanity – the empathy, choice and resilience that define us.”
“Growing up in Cairo, Giza Zoo was a place of wonder, but also a place of quiet tragedy,” Hilal said. “‘His Weakest Creatures’ captures the tension between beauty and decay, love and loss. We are grateful to have partners who are fearless and share our passion for meaningful storytelling.”
Hilal is represented by 75East Management and Production.
