What a crazy ride has 2018 been, right?!

It was such a long year full of ups and downs, awesome trends and insane moments! But apart from all of that, this year also offered great movies, the types that always stay with us no matter what. From the deeply emotional dramatic ones to the funny comedies and thrilling crimes, Egyptian cinema has presented so many films that are worth watching, and that’s why we’ve decided that it’s the perfect timing to bring you a list of the 9 best Egyptian movies released in 2018.

#1 The Day of Judgement/Yomeddine

Set in Egypt, the film written and directed by Abu Bakr Shawky tells the great emotional story of Beshay played by Rady Gamal, a middle aged man diagnosed with the rare disease ‘Leprosy’. Following the recovery, he suffered the extensive scarring in addition to the loss of his mentally ill wife; along the way of finding the father who abandoned him as a child, with his young orphan friend Obama. This beautiful must watch piece of art touched so many lives and won so many awards, including Cannes Film Festival’s Francois Chalais, Heartland International Film Festival’s Best Foreign Language Contender as well as the Gouna Film Festival’s Audience Award!

#2 Gunshot/Eyar Nari

Set in Egypt during the 2011 revolution, Gunshot or Eyar Nari, written by Haitham Dabbour and directed by Karim El Shenawy, is a crime drama with a political twist that involves Ahmed El Fishawi playing an alcoholic doctor who investigates the mysterious circumstances of the murder of a young man played by Ahmed Malek, with the help of the persistent journalist portrayed by Ruby. This story is going to keep your mind wandering until you face the incredible plot twist, you just have to wait for it!

#3 Karmouz War/Harb Karmouz

Harb karmouz, written and directed by Peter Mimi and Mohamed El Sobky, is one of the highest grossing Egyptian motion pictures of all times! That movie was outstanding on so many levels; from the cinematography to the touching story of the loyal and brave police officer played by Amir Karara, who throughout the entire film was trying to protect his people and stand for what is right against all odds!

#4 Diamond Dust/Torab El Mas

Based on Ahmed Morad’s very popular bestselling thriller Torab Al Mas, and directed by Marwan Hamed, this movie features so many of our beloved actors like Asser Yassin, Sherin Reda, Maged El Kedwani and more.

It is about a pharmaceutical salesman, Taha, whose world turns upside down, with so many dangerous secrets getting revealed following the mysterious murder of his father. And all of that definitely involves a small glass bottle of diamond dust that deserves all the hype it got the whole year!

#5 Fork and Knife/Shoka w Sekina

Asser Yassin, Menna Shalaby and Eyad Nassar aka ‘Everybody’s favorite trio’ all star in Adam Abd El Ghaffar’s outstanding film which aired for the first time during the 2018 Gouna Film Festival. The story tackles marriage and relationships from different aspects. From love and betrayal to sex and romance; Fork and Knife is really a different movie that is incredibly interesting to watch, definitely one of the best this year!

#6 Induced Labor/Talq Senaee

Written and directed by Khaled Diab, this comedy drama was unexpectedly one of the best this year. With Maged El Kedwani’s great sense of humor along with the beautiful Horeya Farghaly’s awesome acting skills, Talq Senaee was a very relatable film narrating the story of an Egyptian family and their desperate attempts at acquiring an American visa at the embassy.

#7 Eyebrows/Mate’lasha’n El Hageb

Eyebrows or Mate’lasha’n El Hageb, directed by Tamer Ashry and written by Haitham Dabbour, features two of the very talented young Egyptian actresses, Asmaa Abouzeid and Mariam El Khosht. It recites the tale of a Burka wearing young woman as she discovers throughout the movie things she never knew about herself, including that she hides more than just her face and body underneath.

#8 What Comes Around/El Gam’eya

Set in Egypt’s Road El Farag, written and directed by Reem Saleh, the 79 minute documentary revolves around how an assembly or El Gam’eya changed the lives of six poor people who are in a constant struggle with life and its responsibilities. Such a simple movie with a very strong message that is worth all the applaud!

#9 Karma

Written and directed by Khaled Youssef, the movie Karma tackles the different aspects of two men’s lives and personalities; one is a Muslim and the other is a Christian, both characters are portrayed by Amr Saad, with the rest of the cast being Khaled El Sawy, Ghada Abd Elrazek and Zeina. The film also explores the relationship between the two men as each lives his life separately in suspicious conditions where corruption, politics and romance are also involved. Karma is seriously a very important movie that is more or less relatable to the Egyptian society and is so worth checking out!

We honestly cannot wait for more from the Egyptian filmmakers for next year. 2018 has already shown us how Egyptian cinema has significantly raised its own bar, and we’re definitely looking forward to see it shine even more in the future!