BUC Studios Officially Commences Production On Kemet: Year One, A Landmark Cinematic Epic Set 12,000 Years Ago

Aswan, Egypt (November 2025) — BUC Studios has officially commenced production on Kemet: Year One, a landmark feature film set in 9186 BC, marking one of the most ambitious cinematic undertakings ever initiated through an academic-backed studio in the Middle East. The project represents a defining moment in BUC Studios’ mission to bridge higher education, research, and large-scale professional filmmaking through real-world production at the highest international standards.

Kemet: Year One is the inaugural feature produced under the long-term collaboration framework between BUC Studios and Desert Eagle Films, and serves as a proof of concept for a new production model that integrates academic research, emerging talent, and industry-leading execution within a single cinematic ecosystem.

A Film Rooted In Research, Precision, And Authentic Reconstruction

Set more than twelve thousand years before the rise of dynastic Egypt, Kemet: Year One explores the earliest human communities of the Nile Valley during a period with no written history and minimal archaeological remnants. This creative challenge demanded an unprecedented level of research, validation, and material accuracy — a process in which BUC Studios played a central role.

Through academic consultation, research-driven development, and on-ground collaboration, BUC Studios supported the production across anthropology-informed world-building, material logic, environmental design, and historical plausibility. Faculty insight, research methodologies, and trained student participation helped ensure that every creative decision was continuously tested against scientific and cultural logic rather than cinematic convention.

This approach reflects BUC Studios’ commitment to elevating Egyptian cinema through disciplined research and knowledge-based production frameworks.

An Integrated Academic–Professional Production Model

Kemet: Year One exemplifies BUC Studios’ vision of transforming film education into a living, operational environment. Students, graduates, and emerging professionals were integrated directly into active production departments, working alongside experienced industry figures across art direction, production design, logistics, coordination, and technical execution.

Rather than operating as observers, participants were embedded into real workflows — contributing to set construction, material sourcing, research validation, and production logistics under professional supervision. This hands-on integration strengthens the studio’s long-term objective: to graduate filmmakers who are production-ready, research-literate, and capable of operating within large-scale international productions.

A Large-Scale On-Location Production Across Southern Egypt

Principal photography and set construction are taking place across multiple locations in Upper Egypt, including remote areas of Aswan and surrounding desert regions, selected for their environmental authenticity and geological continuity with prehistoric Nile Valley conditions.

The production has undertaken extensive physical world-building, constructing prehistoric settlements using natural materials and historically plausible techniques. These environments were designed not as temporary sets, but as fully realized, functional spaces intended to support extended filming and immersive performance.

This emphasis on physical production aligns with BUC Studios’ belief that authentic environments are essential to both cinematic realism and meaningful training experiences for students and emerging professionals.

Advancing Egypt’s Creative And Educational Infrastructure

Beyond its narrative ambitions, Kemet: Year One represents a strategic investment in Egypt’s creative infrastructure. By aligning academic research with professional filmmaking, BUC Studios aims to establish a sustainable production pipeline capable of supporting multiple feature films, series, and international co-productions in the years ahead.

The project also reinforces Egypt’s position as a global filming destination, demonstrating the country’s capacity to host complex, research-intensive productions that demand scale, authenticity, and operational discipline.

A Foundational Step In A Long-Term Vision

Kemet: Year One is the first major feature produced through BUC Studios’ evolving cinematic platform, laying the groundwork for future productions that will continue to integrate education, research, and industry collaboration. As production progresses, the studio remains committed to transparency, academic rigor, and the cultivation of talent capable of shaping the next generation of Egyptian and regional cinema.

Through this project, BUC Studios affirms its role not only as a co-producer, but as a research-driven creative institution dedicated to redefining how films are developed, executed, and taught in Egypt.

About BUC Studios

BUC Studios is the professional film and media production arm of Badr University in Cairo, established to bridge academic education with real-world cinematic production. Through research-informed development, industry partnerships, and hands-on training, BUC Studios aims to cultivate talent, generate original intellectual property, and contribute to the sustainable growth of Egypt’s film and media sectors.