Portal:African cinema/Selected score/21
Flight 404 is a 2024 Egyptian thriller directed by Hani Khalifa starring Mona Zaki, with a script by Mohamed Ragaa, and produced by Mohamed Hefzy. The film follows Ghada (Zaki) a woman whose tainted past resurfaces as she is about to embark on a pilgrimage to Mecca. A hit in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa, the film broke Egyptian box office records for a female-led film.
The soundtrack includes 15 original songs by Jordanian-Canadian film composer Suad Bushnaq and was nominated for the Best Soundtrack Septimius Award in 2024. In addition, a new arrangement of 'Ya Rayehin Lil-Nabi', the famous 1953 song from iconic Egyptian singer Layla Murad appears in the closing credits. The song sparked such interest among cinemagoers that the producers of the film released some background notes after the film's release.
'Ya Rayehin Lil-Nabi' is based on one of the most famous Sufi poems by Rabia Basri, an Arab Muslim saint and one of the earliest Sufi mystics. The idea of using the song, originally composed by Riad Al Sunbati and Abo El Seoud El Ebiary for Murad, was conceived by the film's director and writer and to align with the film's key plot events. Music producer Kareem Gaber, also known as “Al Waili” was brought on board to create a fresh and original arrangement while preserving the presence of Murad's voice and integrating the vocals of Nada Abbas.