Happy Birthday (Egyptian Arabic: هابي بيرث داي) is a 2025 Egyptian coming-of-age drama film co-written and directed by Sarah Goher in her directorial debut. It stars Nelly Karim, Hanan Motawie, Sherif Salama, Aly Sobhy and Doha Ramadan. It follows an 8-year-old maid who throws a birthday party for her upper-class friend.
Happy Birthday had its world premiere at the 24th Tribeca Film Festival on June 5, 2025, where it was honored with the Best International Narrative Feature Award as well as the Nora Ephron Award and Best Screenplay in an International Narrative Feature. It was selected as the Egyptian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
Synopsis Toha, an eight-year-old girl who works as a maid for a wealthy family in Cairo, is determined to organize a perfect birthday party for Nelly, her employer's daughter. However, the social hierarchy between employer and maid forces the girl to face a harsh reality.
Cast
Nelly Karim as Laila Doha Ramadan as Toha Hanan Motawie as Nadia Sherif Salama as Asser Ali Sobhi as Toktok Kidnapper Hanan Youssef as Grandma Khadija Ahmed as Nelly Jomana Ibrahim as Fatma Fares Mohamed as Fathy Hazem Ehab as Cake Shop Cashier Samir Gohar as Compound Security Gehad Hossam as Clothing Store Seller 1 Yasmeen El Hawary as Clothing Store Seller 2 Adel Mohamed as Face Paint Kid at Birthday Osama Mahmoud as Amusement Park Security Karim Indomy as Car Honker Enas Radwan as Street Girl
Release The film had its world premiere on June 5, 2025, at the 24th Tribeca Film Festival, and then screened on October 16, 2025, at the 8th El Gouna Film Festival.
The film had its commercial premiere on October 16, 2025, in Egyptian theaters.
Reception On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10.
Accolades AwardCeremony dateCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.Tribeca Film Festival12 June 2025Best International Narrative FeatureHappy BirthdayBest Screenplay in an International Narrative FeatureMohamed Diab & Sarah GoherNora Ephron AwardHappy BirthdayPalm Springs International Film Festival11 January 2026FIPRESCI Prize for Best International First FeatureHappy Birthday - Sarah Goher
See also List of submissions to the 98th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film List of Egyptian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
References
External links