The winning film was revealed during the festival's closing ceremony on Thursday.

The award was presented by an Egyptian film writer and received by the film's producer Kawthar Younis. 

The 20-minute short narrative Mama made its world premiere during the 44th Cairo International Film Festival in November 2022.

The Egyptian actress Mai El Gheity stars in the film in the role of a 21-year-old girl who is hiding a terrifying secret to protect herself and her brother.

Naji Ismail graduated from the High Institute of Cinema in Cairo. He founded his own production company, Rahala for Production and Distribution, which produced his short documentary Om Amira that he wrote and directed. The film screened at Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in 2014.

In 2016, Ismail directed his second short narrative film The Builders, which premiered at Dubai Film Festival. 

Mama is the only Egyptian film to win an award during the 13th Malmö Arab Film Festival, which ran between 28 April and 4 May.

Short Film Competition is among two main competitive segments of MAFF, the other one screening Fiction and Non-Fiction Feature Films. 

The short film segment also awarded two other films: Yaraqa (Les Chenilles) by Michelle and Noel Keserwany (Lebanon) won the Jury Award, while the Special Mention Award was given to Almaz by Mia Bittar (Lebanon-Sudan)