“Happy Birthday,” a gem out of the Tribeca Film Festival, has a real chance to become the first film selected by Egypt to make it onto the Oscar shortlist for Best International Feature, and IndieWire has an exclusive look at the film’s trailer.
The drama about an eight-year-old girl desperate to share a birthday wish with her best friend Nelly, in spite of circumstances that are far too complicated for children their age, serves as the directorial debut of Sarah Goher, who most recently was a consulting producer on the Marvel Cinematic Universe limited series “Moon Knight” starring Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke.
In addition to winning the awards for Best International Narrative Feature, Best Screenplay in an International Narrative Feature, and the Nora Ephron Award, meant to honor an exceptional female filmmaker who represents the spirit and vision of the legendary filmmaker and writer, at Tribeca this year, “Happy Birthday” is produced by Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx.
“Our hope is that more and more people will get to see this powerful film. It is masterful storytelling by a fresh new voice in film,” said Foxx and his producing partner, Datari Turner, president of Foxxhole Productions, to IndieWire via statement. Some of their company’s recent successes include dual documentaries “Number One on the Call Sheet,” Netflix blockbuster “Back in Action,” Sundance favorite “Luther: Never Too Much,” and “They Cloned Tyrone” from debut feature director Juel Taylor.
“Happy Birthday” was written by Goher and her frequent collaborator, Mohamed Diab, whose own film “Clash” was submitted by Egypt for Oscar consideration in 2016. It is also produced by Ahmed El Desouky for SkyLimit. The film is based on the director’s experience visiting her grandmother in Egypt, and tackles the subjects of class, empathy, and the fragile bonds that connect us, through the eyes of a young domestic worker in Cairo. It has also earned the film the Audience Award for the Mind the Gap section at the Mill Valley Film Festival, and the Grand Narrative Prize at the Heartland Film Festival.
While Egypt has been submitting films for consideration in the Best International Feature category since 1958, starting with Youssef Chahine’s “Cairo Station,” which is in the Criterion Collection, “Happy Birthday” would be the first film from the North African country to make the shortlist, should all go in its favor come December.
Watch the trailer for “Happy Birthday,” a IndieWire exclusive, below.
“Happy Birthday” premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.
Article By Marcus Jones
