Movie production hubs worldwide are waking up to new realities, whether it is a return of habits experts thought were gone or shifts driven by new technologies. “For the better part of a decade, the narrative around cinemas has been one of slow decline. 2026 is complicating that story,” said a report published by Atlas Film Fixers (AFF), a multinational provider of support for moviemakers. These “complications” stem from a “structural shift beneath the surface,” noted AFF. “For exhibitors, this is cautiously good news, but the rebound is uneven. Franchise tentpoles and event releases pull enormous numbers, while mid-budget and…
Author: Tamer Hafez
For many filmmakers, festivals are a lifeline, easing pressure to compete directly with blockbusters in commercial cinemas that prioritize revenue over artistic value. Beyond screen time in front of a large audience, festivals offer development grants, foreign investment and international distribution, enabling producers to make more. They often shape a movie producer’s business model, especially for low-budget arthouse productions, including financing and distribution models. Business Monthly sat down for an exclusive interview with Andrew Mohsen, artistic director of the El Gouna Film Festival (GFF), to discuss how festivals stimulate industry development, navigate shifting regional distribution dynamics and safeguard Egypt’s cinematic…
Worldwide, the movie industry faces a nuanced crisis. While “the box office is on pace for its best year since the pandemic,” Reuters reported in August, “fewer people are going to the movies.” That is because of “higher ticket prices, premium-format screenings and a handful of blockbuster releases, rather than a broad return of moviegoers.” By contrast, MENA’s movie business is booming. “For the better part of the 20th century, the region scarcely registered in discussions about the global film industry,” Intaj Co, a MENA-based film and entertainment networking hub, said in August. “Today it’s a headline. Behind the numbers…
With each passing year, it becomes increasingly evident that efforts to curb global average temperatures are ineffective. In January, the National Centers for Environmental Information, a government-owned provider of data, said, “The 10 warmest years in the historical record have all occurred since 2015. Additionally, 2025 exceeded the pre-industrial average by 1.34°C.” The hottest years on record were 2024, 2023, and 2025, in that order. For many, the way to keep cool has been to install air conditioners (ACs). “Global energy demand from air conditioners is projected to triple by 2050, and electricity consumption for residential cooling could double by…
Africa has long enjoyed sustainable GDP growth fueled by its young population, with 60% under 25, according to World Bank data. An April report from the African Development Bank (AfDB) forecast Africa’s growth at 4.3%, compared with the IMF’s global outlook of 3.1%. That is nearly 40% faster. That growth is translating into an expanding middle class. “The rise of the African middle class is one of the stories that will define and shape the 21st century,” Marthinus Fourie, director of Novare Rewards and Loyalty Limited Nigeria at Novare Group, a consultancy, said in a paper published in September 2025. …
For those living in MENA countries, having air conditioners (AC) in their homes is as essential as having refrigerators, TVs, and furniture. But running ACs during hot weather can quadruple monthly electricity bills compared with the rest of the year. According to Synergy Companies, an energy and water efficiency contractor, cooling systems generally consume 40% to 50% of the average household’s electricity. The second most energy-intensive devices are water heaters, which account for 14% to 18%. Generating enough electricity to power more ACs running longer hours will require burning more fossil fuels. In Egypt, for example, around 79% of electricity…
Since June, European countries have been scrambling to combat rising temperatures. In Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, and Poland, public hydrants and sprinklers were regularly used to spray water onto sidewalks to mitigate urban heat. Spain, France, Belgium, Portugal, and Greece designated air-conditioned public buildings as climate shelters. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), an EU-funded monitoring service, average temperatures across the continent rose from 1.24 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels to 1.43 degrees Celsius in June, a 15.3% jump. That “is twice as fast as the global average, making … Europe … the fastest-warming continent on…
For many, day-to-day pressures, mounting frustrations and unexpected developments or news can lead to irrational, emotion-driven actions and decisions. Learning to understand, anticipate and manage them can be essential. This ability is known as emotional intelligence (EI). Despite its importance, EI is often overlooked by IQ tests that prioritize mental abilities. In “Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ,” author Daniel Goleman says this can result in a “narrow view of intelligence.” The book notes that EI includes “self-control, zeal and persistence, and the ability to motivate oneself.” These skills “can be taught to [individuals], giving them a…
In summer, overheated households in summer are becoming a fact of life as temperatures continue to rise year after year. “As extreme heat events become more frequent and widespread, perceptions of cooling are shifting, driving more consumers to consider purchasing an air conditioner (AC),” noted a June paper from the International Energy Agency (IEA). “The number of [those] purchasing their first AC unit will reach new highs in the years ahead.” For manufacturers, that should be a boon for business. However, significantly more ACs will put mounting pressure on national power grids. “Growing electricity demand for air conditioning is one…
For school-supply sellers, Egypt is a sustainable, highly lucrative market. According to a 2026 UNICEF report, Egypt had the highest secondary school completion rate in the MENA region in 2024 at 96%. Second-place Morocco achieved 84%, followed by Iraq at 83%. Additionally, Minister of Education Mohamed Abdel Latiff reported that classroom attendance was 87% of enrolled students as of June. Furthermore, Egypt’s education market is massive. CAPMAS said 32.9 million students were enrolled in the 2024/2025 academic year, equivalent to the ninth most populous country of MENA’s 20 nations. In 2026, two major factors are reshaping the school supplies market.…