HAPPY BIRTHDAY Discovery

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

In her remarkable debut feature, director/writer Sarah Goher turns a sharply observant lens on class and society in modern Cairo. Eight-year-old Toha — the child maid of an upper middle-class family — navigates a world not built for her as she forges an unlikely bond with her employer’s daughter Nelly. When Nelly’s ninth birthday approaches, Toha — never having celebrated her own — pours herself into making the party perfect. As lines blur between affection and authority in the dynamic between Toha and the family, Goher delicately examines the contradictions that surface when human connection threatens to upend the status quo. Anchored by a central performance from young newcomer Doha Ramadan, HAPPY BIRTHDAY won the Best International Film, Best International Screenplay and the Nora Ephron Award at the Tribeca Festival. –Mimi Brody

Sarah Goher is an Egyptian American writer/producer from the South Bronx. An alumna of NYU Tisch and Nightingale, Sarah worked on CAIRO 678, CLASH, AMIRA and Marvel’s MOON KNIGHT. Her directorial debut, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival where it won three awards including Best International Narrative Feature.

Aly Hegazy
ah.mdassist@gmail.com

MEMBERS & PASSHOLDERS

Screenings

October 26, 6:30 p.m.

Chinese 2

Details

Country: Egypt

Year: 2025

Director: Sarah Goher

Screenwriters: Sarah Goher, Mohamed Diab

Producers: Ahmed Desouky, Ahmed Badawy, Ahmed Abbas, Jamie Foxx, Datari Turner

Executive Producer: Mohamed Diab

Director of Photography: Seif Eldin Khaled

Editor: Ahmed Hafez

Production Designers: Afnan Mokhtar, Radwa Beshir

Costume Designer: Nashwa Maatouk

Music: Mina Samy

Cast/Featuring: Doha Ramadan, Nelly Karim, Hanan Motawie, Hanan Youssef

Running Time (minutes): 91

Language: Arabic

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