Exclusive: The Arab Film Club, a popular monthly film club on Arab cinema based in London, is expanding.
Actress and presenter Sarah Agha, the club’s founder and curator, is launching The Arab Film Club Podcast, debuting Wednesday, May 1, with an initial five-episode season. Episodes will drop on Podbean, Apple, and Spotify every second Wednesday after that.
The pod’s first season will be dedicated to Palestinian cinema and highlight five different Palestinian filmmakers through intimate interviews. Featured filmmakers will include Darin J. Sallam, best known for her breakout feature Farha, which was Jordan’s Best International Film Oscar in 2022. Agha will also sit down with Bye Bye Tiberias director Lina Soualem. Scroll down to see the full season one lineup.
Agha, an actress, writer, presenter, and film curator is of Palestinian and Irish heritage. She is perhaps best known for presenting the acclaimed BBC doc The Holy Land And...
Actress and presenter Sarah Agha, the club’s founder and curator, is launching The Arab Film Club Podcast, debuting Wednesday, May 1, with an initial five-episode season. Episodes will drop on Podbean, Apple, and Spotify every second Wednesday after that.
The pod’s first season will be dedicated to Palestinian cinema and highlight five different Palestinian filmmakers through intimate interviews. Featured filmmakers will include Darin J. Sallam, best known for her breakout feature Farha, which was Jordan’s Best International Film Oscar in 2022. Agha will also sit down with Bye Bye Tiberias director Lina Soualem. Scroll down to see the full season one lineup.
Agha, an actress, writer, presenter, and film curator is of Palestinian and Irish heritage. She is perhaps best known for presenting the acclaimed BBC doc The Holy Land And...
- 4/17/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Filmmakers Farah Nabulsi and Darin J. Sallam recently came together to discuss how ongoing violence in Gaza has impacted the Palestinian creative community, the hardships they’ve endured telling their stories, concerns over Hollywood censorship and hopes that film can “preserve” Palestinian history for the Muslim Girl Code podcast‘s debut episode “Will Storytelling Save Palestine?”
In a conversation with MuslimGirl.com founder Amani Al-Khatahtbeh for the podcast’s first Ramadan episode, Nabulsi and Sallam shared how their identities as Palestinian women have influenced the stories they spotlight, and whether identity or gender has been a barrier for them in the film industry.
Nabulsi, a British-Palestinian filmmaker whose recent works include the Oscar-nominated short “The Present” and “The Teacher,” notes that the difficulties she has faced more often have been due to independent cinema being a challenge in itself and that the stories she wants to tell are Palestinian and...
In a conversation with MuslimGirl.com founder Amani Al-Khatahtbeh for the podcast’s first Ramadan episode, Nabulsi and Sallam shared how their identities as Palestinian women have influenced the stories they spotlight, and whether identity or gender has been a barrier for them in the film industry.
Nabulsi, a British-Palestinian filmmaker whose recent works include the Oscar-nominated short “The Present” and “The Teacher,” notes that the difficulties she has faced more often have been due to independent cinema being a challenge in itself and that the stories she wants to tell are Palestinian and...
- 3/27/2024
- by Sharareh Drury
- Variety Film + TV
Jordan has submitted Amjad Al-Rasheed’s female inheritance rights drama Inshallah A Boy for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.
The picture made history earlier this year when it became the first Jordanian feature film to premiere in Cannes, when it was selected for parallel section Cannes Critics’ Week.
It won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution, putting $21,000 towards distribution costs in France.
Greenwich Entertainment acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film ahead of its North American premiere at TIFF earlier this month.
The Amman-set drama stars Muna Hawa as a newly widowed young woman, who is in danger of losing the home that she helped pay for with her late husband due to Jordan’s anachronistic inheritance laws.
In the face of pressure from her in-laws and with little support from her the wealthy household where she works as a carer for the ageing grandmother,...
The picture made history earlier this year when it became the first Jordanian feature film to premiere in Cannes, when it was selected for parallel section Cannes Critics’ Week.
It won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution, putting $21,000 towards distribution costs in France.
Greenwich Entertainment acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film ahead of its North American premiere at TIFF earlier this month.
The Amman-set drama stars Muna Hawa as a newly widowed young woman, who is in danger of losing the home that she helped pay for with her late husband due to Jordan’s anachronistic inheritance laws.
In the face of pressure from her in-laws and with little support from her the wealthy household where she works as a carer for the ageing grandmother,...
- 9/28/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Cannes Critics’ Week, a parallel film festival sidebar selected by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics, has unveiled its 2023 selection of 11 features, including seven competition titles and four special screenings.
The section focuses on first and second features from emerging directors. The 62nd edition runs alongside the main Cannes festival May 17-25.
This year’s competition lineup includes two Asian horror movies: the Korean horror film Sleep (Jam) from first-time director, and former Bong Joon Ho assistant, Jason Yu, and Tiger Stripes from Malaysian director Amanda Eu. The former features Parasite star Lee Sun-kyun and Train to Busan‘s Jung Yu-mi as newlyweds whose lives descend into horror triggered by the husband’s strange behavior while asleep. Tiger Stripes, which draws inspiration from Southeast Asian folklore, is a coming-of-age tale about a 12-year-old girl whose body starts to change in alarming and horrifying ways as she hits puberty.
Physical changes...
The section focuses on first and second features from emerging directors. The 62nd edition runs alongside the main Cannes festival May 17-25.
This year’s competition lineup includes two Asian horror movies: the Korean horror film Sleep (Jam) from first-time director, and former Bong Joon Ho assistant, Jason Yu, and Tiger Stripes from Malaysian director Amanda Eu. The former features Parasite star Lee Sun-kyun and Train to Busan‘s Jung Yu-mi as newlyweds whose lives descend into horror triggered by the husband’s strange behavior while asleep. Tiger Stripes, which draws inspiration from Southeast Asian folklore, is a coming-of-age tale about a 12-year-old girl whose body starts to change in alarming and horrifying ways as she hits puberty.
Physical changes...
- 4/17/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cannes Critics’ Week has announced the selection for its 62nd edition, running from May 17 to 25.
The parallel Cannes section will screen 11 features, seven in competition, and four as special screenings, selected from 1,000 submissions. Scroll down for the full list.
The section, which is overseen by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics, focuses on first and second features as well as shorts by emerging talents.
Stories of couples, parenthood, family relationships and friendships unfolding against difficult political or societal realities abound in this year’s line-up.
In Competition, Brazilian director Lillah Halla’s Power Alley (Levante) follows a budding teenage volleyball champion who discovers she is pregnant on the eve of an important championship and then comes up against Brazil’s abortion ban.
Blocked in her attempts to seek an illegal termination, the girl’s future seems to be in everyone’s hands but hers, until help comes from an unexpected quarter.
The parallel Cannes section will screen 11 features, seven in competition, and four as special screenings, selected from 1,000 submissions. Scroll down for the full list.
The section, which is overseen by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics, focuses on first and second features as well as shorts by emerging talents.
Stories of couples, parenthood, family relationships and friendships unfolding against difficult political or societal realities abound in this year’s line-up.
In Competition, Brazilian director Lillah Halla’s Power Alley (Levante) follows a budding teenage volleyball champion who discovers she is pregnant on the eve of an important championship and then comes up against Brazil’s abortion ban.
Blocked in her attempts to seek an illegal termination, the girl’s future seems to be in everyone’s hands but hers, until help comes from an unexpected quarter.
- 4/17/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Farha was a classic indie film success story.
Darin J. Sallam’s low-budget drama, set in 1948, in the early days of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, premiered in Toronto last year before touring an A-list of international festivals with sold-out screenings in Rome, Busan, Gothenburg and Lyon. Critics loved the movie, praising the story of the feisty Farha, a 14-year-old girl living in a small Palestinian village who butts up against her society’s patriarchal restrictions on young women. When Israeli forces enter the town — part of a military action that saw more than 700,000 Palestinians displaced and scores of Palestinian towns and villages wiped off the map— Farha’s father locks her in a room for safety. From inside, she witnesses Israeli soldiers committing an atrocity against civilians.
Karam Taher in ‘Farha’
The festival buzz around Farha led to a global Netflix deal via sales group Picture Tree International.
Farha was a classic indie film success story.
Darin J. Sallam’s low-budget drama, set in 1948, in the early days of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, premiered in Toronto last year before touring an A-list of international festivals with sold-out screenings in Rome, Busan, Gothenburg and Lyon. Critics loved the movie, praising the story of the feisty Farha, a 14-year-old girl living in a small Palestinian village who butts up against her society’s patriarchal restrictions on young women. When Israeli forces enter the town — part of a military action that saw more than 700,000 Palestinians displaced and scores of Palestinian towns and villages wiped off the map— Farha’s father locks her in a room for safety. From inside, she witnesses Israeli soldiers committing an atrocity against civilians.
Karam Taher in ‘Farha’
The festival buzz around Farha led to a global Netflix deal via sales group Picture Tree International.
- 12/8/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jordanian director Darin J. Sallam and producers Deema Azar and Ayeh Jadaneh have accused Israel of mounting a disinformation campaign against their film Farha and also rebuked the country for attempting to get it removed from theaters and Netflix.
The film is set in 1948, in the early days of the Israel-Palestinian conflict which saw scores of Palestinian towns and villages wiped off the map, while some 700,000 people fled the territory.
The picture’s titular protagonist Farha is a feisty 14-year-old girl living in a Palestinian village whose father locks her in a room for safety when fighting breaks out, from where she witnesses an atrocity via its small window.
The picture, which world premiered in Toronto’s Discovery section in 2021 and has since played a raft of other festivals including Busan, Red Sea and Malmö, is Jordan’s Best International Film Oscar entry this year.
Following its release on Netflix...
The film is set in 1948, in the early days of the Israel-Palestinian conflict which saw scores of Palestinian towns and villages wiped off the map, while some 700,000 people fled the territory.
The picture’s titular protagonist Farha is a feisty 14-year-old girl living in a Palestinian village whose father locks her in a room for safety when fighting breaks out, from where she witnesses an atrocity via its small window.
The picture, which world premiered in Toronto’s Discovery section in 2021 and has since played a raft of other festivals including Busan, Red Sea and Malmö, is Jordan’s Best International Film Oscar entry this year.
Following its release on Netflix...
- 12/5/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
When director Darin J. Sallam came to make her feature debut with Farah, she always knew what the subject matter would be: as a little girl, Sallam’s mother used to tell her the story of a teenage girl who was locked up in her room during the partition of Palestine in 1948. “She was locked up by her father to protect her life,” Sallam recalls. “She survived [the conflict] and she made it to Syria, where she met a Syrian girl and shared her story with her. This Syrian girl grew up, got married and had a child, and she shared the story with her daughter—and this daughter happened to be me.”
The tale had a big impact on Sallam, who talked about the film’s genesis during a panel at Deadline’s Contenders Film: International award-season event. “It’s a story that’s stayed with me since I was a child,...
The tale had a big impact on Sallam, who talked about the film’s genesis during a panel at Deadline’s Contenders Film: International award-season event. “It’s a story that’s stayed with me since I was a child,...
- 12/3/2022
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Other winners included ‘Return To Seoul’, ‘Farha’ and ‘All That Breathes’
Kamila Andini’s Before, Now And Then (Nana) won the best film award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) which took place on the Gold Coast, Australia today (November 11).
It is the first film directed by a woman to win the award and the first Indonesian film to do so.
Set against Indonesia’s turbulent post-independence years in the 1960s, Happy Salma stars as a woman still reeling from the past as she tries to move on with her life. The film premiered in competition at the Berlinale...
Kamila Andini’s Before, Now And Then (Nana) won the best film award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) which took place on the Gold Coast, Australia today (November 11).
It is the first film directed by a woman to win the award and the first Indonesian film to do so.
Set against Indonesia’s turbulent post-independence years in the 1960s, Happy Salma stars as a woman still reeling from the past as she tries to move on with her life. The film premiered in competition at the Berlinale...
- 11/11/2022
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Indonesian director Kamila Andini’s “Before Now and Then” was named best film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The film’s lead actor Happy Salma was on hand to receive the award at a ceremony in Gold Coast, Australia, on Friday.
The film recounts the story of a young woman who escapes an anti-Communist purge and leads a quiet life as the second wife of a wealthy man. But her past traumas resurface in her dreams.
Although the win is the first time that an Indonesian title has been named Apsa’s best film, and the first time that a woman has claimed the prize, it is the third time that Andini has won a feature film Apsa. Previously, she won the best children’s film prize with “The Mirror Never Lies” in 2012 and collected the youth feature film prize with “The Seen and Unseen” in 2017.
Other key prizes...
The film recounts the story of a young woman who escapes an anti-Communist purge and leads a quiet life as the second wife of a wealthy man. But her past traumas resurface in her dreams.
Although the win is the first time that an Indonesian title has been named Apsa’s best film, and the first time that a woman has claimed the prize, it is the third time that Andini has won a feature film Apsa. Previously, she won the best children’s film prize with “The Mirror Never Lies” in 2012 and collected the youth feature film prize with “The Seen and Unseen” in 2017.
Other key prizes...
- 11/11/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Picture Tree Intl. has picked up the global sales rights to Austrian horror movie “Smother” by up-and-coming director Achmed Abdel-Salam. The Glitter and Doom production is tentatively set for a local theatrical release in early 2023.
After the sudden death of her estranged father, Michi, a young mother and former alcoholic, decides to stay in the inherited summer house for a few days with her small daughter Hanna, hoping to regain the motherly trust she lost.
During the first night, long repressed memories of her childhood overshadowed by her mother’s suicide start to haunt her. Trying to numb herself again with alcohol only drives her daughter Hanna further away and accelerates Michi’s paranoid state. When her demons also start to threaten her daughter, Michi must finally confront them to save her.
Picture Tree Intl.’s AFM slate features a variety of new international films, including a first visual pitch...
After the sudden death of her estranged father, Michi, a young mother and former alcoholic, decides to stay in the inherited summer house for a few days with her small daughter Hanna, hoping to regain the motherly trust she lost.
During the first night, long repressed memories of her childhood overshadowed by her mother’s suicide start to haunt her. Trying to numb herself again with alcohol only drives her daughter Hanna further away and accelerates Michi’s paranoid state. When her demons also start to threaten her daughter, Michi must finally confront them to save her.
Picture Tree Intl.’s AFM slate features a variety of new international films, including a first visual pitch...
- 10/25/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
- 9/29/2022
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
- 9/29/2022
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
- 9/29/2022
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
- 9/28/2022
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
The Red Sea International Film Festival in partnership with Vox Cinemas, Mbc Group, and Saudia Airlines announced the winners of the Red Sea competition sections. The 16 feature, 18 shorts selection and 21 ground-breaking global virtual reality experiences are a celebration of the most exciting, innovative new films and cinematic storytelling from established and emerging filmmakers from the Arab world and Africa.
This year’s jury included: President of the Red Sea Features Competition, Academy Award-winning Italian director and writer Giuseppe Tornatore, Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, Palestinian-American director, writer, actress, and producer Cherien Dabis, Mexican festival director and founder of the Morelia International Film Festival Daniela Michel and Saudi film director Abdulaziz Alshlahei.
Competition Jury Prize went to the Cannes Directors Fortnight premiering Hit the Road by Panah Panahi from Iran.
Competition Best Film went to Brighton 4th by Levan Koguashvili a coproduction of Georgia, Russia, Bulgaria, USA, Monaco. This is Georgia’s submission for Oscar Nomination for Best International Film and the winner of the Asian World Film Festival, Los Angeles for Best Picture. This film about the Georgian emigrants living in Brighton Beach, USA today captures the heart of the viewers with its open sharing of the Georgians today. Its director Levan Koguashvili graduated NYU Film school. The film is the winner of three prizes at Cottbus Film Festival and three awards at Tribeca as well.
Competition Best Actor and Best Director for Europa went to Amal Ali and Haider Rashid respectively, a coproduction of Iraq, Italy, and Kuwait:
Haider Rashid says, “Regarding the main role, Kamal, I was set on finding an actor who could understand the sense of displacement that we wanted to portray on an emotional level. My colleague Daniele Bernabei ran into a trailer for a short film while at the Short Film Corner in Cannes and sent it to me, as the cast was composed of several Arab actors. As soon as I saw Adam Ali I felt there was something interesting about him, a silent movie face in a way. That made me want to find out more, since we were going to make a film in which dialogue is at a minimum and most of the film is on the protagonist’s shoulders.
While he was in Canada shooting Apple+’s Little America, we had a very interesting conversation and found some common grounds on certain issues like the misrepresentation of certain ethnicities in film and TV and what it feels like to be sometimes torn between two cultures. Adam is of Libyan origins and moved with his family to Manchester when he was a child, so the issue of identity was also a common ground between us.
Of course this film is pretty different as it is so physical and it was clear that we were going to do many things that not every actor would be willing to do. While speaking to Adam, it seemed to me that there was a certain pride about him that would help me in pushing him in certain directions both physically and emotionally by sometimes provoking him. He was great in being determined to do what was necessary and I have to say he was really brave in how he faced the physical and emotional challenges that the story entailed.”
Competition Best Actress Award went to Arawinda Kirana for her role in Yuni a production of Indonesia, Singapore, France, Australia. She also won for best actress in the Asian World Film Festival, Los Angeles. This is a beautifully shot story of the feisy rebellion of a young woman in Indonesia today, a place we have not seen in its contemporary feminine aspects until now.
Best Saudi Film Rupture by Hamzah K. Jamjoom — Saudi Arabia
Audience Award You Resemble Me by Dina Amer — Egypt, France, USA
Immersive Silver Yusr Samsara by Hsin-Chien Huang — Taiwan
Immersive Gold Yusr End of Night by David Adler — Denmark, France
Short Competition Golden Yusr Tala’vision by Murad Abu Eisheh — Jordan, Germany
Competition Special Mention Farha by Darin J. Sallam — Jordan
Competition Best Cinematic Contribution went to Amin Jafari for Hit the Road — Iran
Competition Best Screenplay Neighbours by Mano Khalil — Syria, Switzerland...
This year’s jury included: President of the Red Sea Features Competition, Academy Award-winning Italian director and writer Giuseppe Tornatore, Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, Palestinian-American director, writer, actress, and producer Cherien Dabis, Mexican festival director and founder of the Morelia International Film Festival Daniela Michel and Saudi film director Abdulaziz Alshlahei.
Competition Jury Prize went to the Cannes Directors Fortnight premiering Hit the Road by Panah Panahi from Iran.
Competition Best Film went to Brighton 4th by Levan Koguashvili a coproduction of Georgia, Russia, Bulgaria, USA, Monaco. This is Georgia’s submission for Oscar Nomination for Best International Film and the winner of the Asian World Film Festival, Los Angeles for Best Picture. This film about the Georgian emigrants living in Brighton Beach, USA today captures the heart of the viewers with its open sharing of the Georgians today. Its director Levan Koguashvili graduated NYU Film school. The film is the winner of three prizes at Cottbus Film Festival and three awards at Tribeca as well.
Competition Best Actor and Best Director for Europa went to Amal Ali and Haider Rashid respectively, a coproduction of Iraq, Italy, and Kuwait:
Haider Rashid says, “Regarding the main role, Kamal, I was set on finding an actor who could understand the sense of displacement that we wanted to portray on an emotional level. My colleague Daniele Bernabei ran into a trailer for a short film while at the Short Film Corner in Cannes and sent it to me, as the cast was composed of several Arab actors. As soon as I saw Adam Ali I felt there was something interesting about him, a silent movie face in a way. That made me want to find out more, since we were going to make a film in which dialogue is at a minimum and most of the film is on the protagonist’s shoulders.
While he was in Canada shooting Apple+’s Little America, we had a very interesting conversation and found some common grounds on certain issues like the misrepresentation of certain ethnicities in film and TV and what it feels like to be sometimes torn between two cultures. Adam is of Libyan origins and moved with his family to Manchester when he was a child, so the issue of identity was also a common ground between us.
Of course this film is pretty different as it is so physical and it was clear that we were going to do many things that not every actor would be willing to do. While speaking to Adam, it seemed to me that there was a certain pride about him that would help me in pushing him in certain directions both physically and emotionally by sometimes provoking him. He was great in being determined to do what was necessary and I have to say he was really brave in how he faced the physical and emotional challenges that the story entailed.”
Competition Best Actress Award went to Arawinda Kirana for her role in Yuni a production of Indonesia, Singapore, France, Australia. She also won for best actress in the Asian World Film Festival, Los Angeles. This is a beautifully shot story of the feisy rebellion of a young woman in Indonesia today, a place we have not seen in its contemporary feminine aspects until now.
Best Saudi Film Rupture by Hamzah K. Jamjoom — Saudi Arabia
Audience Award You Resemble Me by Dina Amer — Egypt, France, USA
Immersive Silver Yusr Samsara by Hsin-Chien Huang — Taiwan
Immersive Gold Yusr End of Night by David Adler — Denmark, France
Short Competition Golden Yusr Tala’vision by Murad Abu Eisheh — Jordan, Germany
Competition Special Mention Farha by Darin J. Sallam — Jordan
Competition Best Cinematic Contribution went to Amin Jafari for Hit the Road — Iran
Competition Best Screenplay Neighbours by Mano Khalil — Syria, Switzerland...
- 5/8/2022
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
Berlin-based sales agency Picture Tree Intl. has added to its European Film Market slate “Love Thing,” starring top German actor Elyas M’Barek, whose credits include “The Collini Case.” Also on the slate is “Soul of a Beast,” which debuts its trailer below.
Despite the virtual nature of the EFM, the company has taken additional office space at the Marriott Hotel in Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz.
“Love Thing,” which also stars Lucie Heinze, Peri Baumeister and Alexandra Maria Lara, is directed and written by Anika Decker, whose last feature “High Society” sold widely. Decker scripted box office successes like “Rabbit Without Ears,” which grossed $85 million.
“Love Thing” is produced by German production-distribution powerhouse Constantin Film, which has set its release for July 7. The producers are Rüdiger Böss and Philipp Reuter; the co-producers are Anika Decker and Jan Decker; and the executive producer is Martin Moszkowicz. Picture Tree will present a first teaser trailer to select buyers.
Despite the virtual nature of the EFM, the company has taken additional office space at the Marriott Hotel in Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz.
“Love Thing,” which also stars Lucie Heinze, Peri Baumeister and Alexandra Maria Lara, is directed and written by Anika Decker, whose last feature “High Society” sold widely. Decker scripted box office successes like “Rabbit Without Ears,” which grossed $85 million.
“Love Thing” is produced by German production-distribution powerhouse Constantin Film, which has set its release for July 7. The producers are Rüdiger Böss and Philipp Reuter; the co-producers are Anika Decker and Jan Decker; and the executive producer is Martin Moszkowicz. Picture Tree will present a first teaser trailer to select buyers.
- 2/2/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Picture Tree Intl. has acquired Iranian genre crossover feature “Without Her,” and will introduce the film to buyers during the upcoming European Film Market at its Marriot Hotel located office in Berlin. The film’s trailer is debuting with Variety (below).
In Arian Vazirdaftari’s feature debut, Roya is getting ready to emigrate from Iran when she meets a quiet young woman who appears lost and doesn’t remember anything. Roya takes her in, providing her with a home and introducing her to her husband, family and friends – all the while blissfully unaware that this woman has come to replace her.
The storyline of a woman losing her identity dives into the genre tradition of Hitchcock, Polanski and De Palma, while connecting it with the tradition of social realism in Iranian cinema, Picture Tree Intl. said in a statement, with gripping performances from Iranian actors Tannaz Tabatabaei, Saber Abar and Shadi Karamroudi.
In Arian Vazirdaftari’s feature debut, Roya is getting ready to emigrate from Iran when she meets a quiet young woman who appears lost and doesn’t remember anything. Roya takes her in, providing her with a home and introducing her to her husband, family and friends – all the while blissfully unaware that this woman has come to replace her.
The storyline of a woman losing her identity dives into the genre tradition of Hitchcock, Polanski and De Palma, while connecting it with the tradition of social realism in Iranian cinema, Picture Tree Intl. said in a statement, with gripping performances from Iranian actors Tannaz Tabatabaei, Saber Abar and Shadi Karamroudi.
- 1/31/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Levan Koguashvili’s Brighton 4th has scooped up the Best Film prize at Saudi Arabia’s inaugural Red Sea Film Festival. The title is Georgia’s entry in the Academy Awards international feature category this year.
Elsewhere in the festival’s Yusr Awards, Hamzah K. Jamjoom’s title Rupture was the winner for Best Saudi Film while Egyptian title You Resemble Me from director Dina Amer won the Audience Award.
Meanwhile, the jury prize was awarded to Iranian helmer Panah Panahi’s family road trip effort Hit The Road, which also won the Red Sea’s best cinematic contribution award. That title premiered in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year. Murad Abu Eisheh’s Tala’Vision nabbed the Best Short award while Haider Rashid won Best Director for his title Europa.
The festival’s selection included 16 features, 18 short films and 21 virtual reality experiences in a celebration of innovative films...
Elsewhere in the festival’s Yusr Awards, Hamzah K. Jamjoom’s title Rupture was the winner for Best Saudi Film while Egyptian title You Resemble Me from director Dina Amer won the Audience Award.
Meanwhile, the jury prize was awarded to Iranian helmer Panah Panahi’s family road trip effort Hit The Road, which also won the Red Sea’s best cinematic contribution award. That title premiered in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year. Murad Abu Eisheh’s Tala’Vision nabbed the Best Short award while Haider Rashid won Best Director for his title Europa.
The festival’s selection included 16 features, 18 short films and 21 virtual reality experiences in a celebration of innovative films...
- 12/14/2021
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Giuseppe Tornatore was jury president for the inaugural competition featuring 16 features.
Georgian director Levan Koguashvili’s Brighton 4th has won best film at the inaugural edition of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival, unfolding in Jeddah from December 6-15.
It follows a raft of prizes for the New York-set father-son drama that world premiered at Tribeca where it won best international feature, actor and screenplay.
There were 16 features from the Middle East and Africa in the inaugural competition.
Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore presided over the main competition jury with Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, Palestinian-American director Cherien Dabis, Morelia...
Georgian director Levan Koguashvili’s Brighton 4th has won best film at the inaugural edition of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival, unfolding in Jeddah from December 6-15.
It follows a raft of prizes for the New York-set father-son drama that world premiered at Tribeca where it won best international feature, actor and screenplay.
There were 16 features from the Middle East and Africa in the inaugural competition.
Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore presided over the main competition jury with Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, Palestinian-American director Cherien Dabis, Morelia...
- 12/13/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Levan Koguashvili’s “Brighton 4th” has won best film at Saudi Arabia’s inaugural Red Sea Film Festival, while Hamzah K. Jamjoom’s “Rupture” won best Saudi film.
“Brighton 4th” is Georgia’s entry in the Academy Awards’ international feature category.
Haider Rashid won best director for “Europa” and Adam Ali won best actor for his role in the film. Arawinda Kirana won best actress for her performance in Kamila Andini’s “Yuni,” which is Indonesia’s entry in the Oscars’ international category.
This year’s jury included: president of the Red Sea features competition, Academy Award-winning Italian director and writer Giuseppe Tornatore; Tunisian actor Hend Sabry; Palestinian-American director, writer, actor, and producer Cherien Dabis; Mexican festival director and founder of the Morelia International Film Festival Daniela Michel; and Saudi film director Abdulaziz Alshlahei. The Red Sea shorts competition jury was headed by Egyptian director Marwan Hamed and joined by...
“Brighton 4th” is Georgia’s entry in the Academy Awards’ international feature category.
Haider Rashid won best director for “Europa” and Adam Ali won best actor for his role in the film. Arawinda Kirana won best actress for her performance in Kamila Andini’s “Yuni,” which is Indonesia’s entry in the Oscars’ international category.
This year’s jury included: president of the Red Sea features competition, Academy Award-winning Italian director and writer Giuseppe Tornatore; Tunisian actor Hend Sabry; Palestinian-American director, writer, actor, and producer Cherien Dabis; Mexican festival director and founder of the Morelia International Film Festival Daniela Michel; and Saudi film director Abdulaziz Alshlahei. The Red Sea shorts competition jury was headed by Egyptian director Marwan Hamed and joined by...
- 12/13/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The text reads: Palestine, 1948. That’s all you need to know to understand what’s coming. A year earlier marked the start of the Palestinian Civil War between Jewish and Arab residents after the United Nations recommended the land’s separation in a Jewish and Arab state. Israel declared independence in May of 1948 and, as some history books describe it, a mass exodus arose to render about half the nation’s pre-wwii Arab population into refugees without a home. To simply call it an exodus, however, is misleading. Most of these people didn’t choose to leave as a means of finding settlement elsewhere. They were driven out by Israeli military forces who in turn destroyed villages and murdered so-called “rebel forces” in an ethnic cleansing that continues today.
As anyone following the news knows, using the term genocide for what happened / is happening has always been a hotly disputed...
As anyone following the news knows, using the term genocide for what happened / is happening has always been a hotly disputed...
- 9/11/2021
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
The new fund gives production and post-production support to Arab world cinema projects.
Lebanese director Ely Dagher’s Beirut-set drama The Sea Ahead and Jordanian filmmaker Darin J. Sallam’s debut feature Farha are among the first 14 recipients of the Red Sea International Film Festival’s $14m fund.
Starring French-Lebanese actress Manal Issa as a young woman who returns to Beirut after many years of absence, The Sea Ahead world premiered in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year. It was Dagher’s first feature after Waves ’98, which won the Cannes Palme D’Or for best short film in 2015.
Farha will...
Lebanese director Ely Dagher’s Beirut-set drama The Sea Ahead and Jordanian filmmaker Darin J. Sallam’s debut feature Farha are among the first 14 recipients of the Red Sea International Film Festival’s $14m fund.
Starring French-Lebanese actress Manal Issa as a young woman who returns to Beirut after many years of absence, The Sea Ahead world premiered in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year. It was Dagher’s first feature after Waves ’98, which won the Cannes Palme D’Or for best short film in 2015.
Farha will...
- 9/6/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Saudi Arabia’s nascent Red Sea International Film Festival has revealed 14 Arabic feature films selected to receive production and post-production funding from its Red Sea Fund.
The announcement was made at the Venice Film Festival where the Red Sea festival and Saudi Arabia’s fledgling film industry have a substantial presence.
Among the beneficiaries of the fund are Jordanian writer and director Darin J. Sallam’s Toronto Film Festival-bound “Farha,” the story of 14-year-old girl Farha in Palestine in 1948, who watches from a locked pantry as catastrophe consumes her home, and Lebanese director Ely Dagher’s “The Sea Ahead,” that recently launched from the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.
The announced grants for pics coming from Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, Iraq, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, mark the first round of funding from the deep-pocketed fund that in June announced a $10 million pot, which then during Cannes, in July, was increased to $14 million,...
The announcement was made at the Venice Film Festival where the Red Sea festival and Saudi Arabia’s fledgling film industry have a substantial presence.
Among the beneficiaries of the fund are Jordanian writer and director Darin J. Sallam’s Toronto Film Festival-bound “Farha,” the story of 14-year-old girl Farha in Palestine in 1948, who watches from a locked pantry as catastrophe consumes her home, and Lebanese director Ely Dagher’s “The Sea Ahead,” that recently launched from the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.
The announced grants for pics coming from Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, Iraq, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, mark the first round of funding from the deep-pocketed fund that in June announced a $10 million pot, which then during Cannes, in July, was increased to $14 million,...
- 9/6/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italy’s Picomedia & Russia’s WeiT Partner For ‘Kurgan’
Italian scripted producer Picomedia, part of Asacha Media Group, and Russian producer WeiTMedia, part of Banijay, have partnered to co-produce six-part drama series Kurgan. Based on true events in 1982, the show begins in Northern Italy, where a 14-year-old boy in an affluent Italian family has a medical condition that no doctor in his country can treat. Bullied at school and desperate to fit in, he learns of a pioneering treatment by a Russian orthopaedic surgeon, Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov, in the city of Kurgan, Siberia. Co-written by Russian and Italian scriptwriters, the 6×60 minutes series will be produced in both languages with an Italian female lead and Russian male counterpart.
Yo-yo Champion Joins ‘The Sweepers’
Exclusive: Yo-yo world champions Gentry Stein has joined Michael Matteo Rossi’s upcoming action film The Sweepers; the project will mark Stein’s acting debut. The film also...
Italian scripted producer Picomedia, part of Asacha Media Group, and Russian producer WeiTMedia, part of Banijay, have partnered to co-produce six-part drama series Kurgan. Based on true events in 1982, the show begins in Northern Italy, where a 14-year-old boy in an affluent Italian family has a medical condition that no doctor in his country can treat. Bullied at school and desperate to fit in, he learns of a pioneering treatment by a Russian orthopaedic surgeon, Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov, in the city of Kurgan, Siberia. Co-written by Russian and Italian scriptwriters, the 6×60 minutes series will be produced in both languages with an Italian female lead and Russian male counterpart.
Yo-yo Champion Joins ‘The Sweepers’
Exclusive: Yo-yo world champions Gentry Stein has joined Michael Matteo Rossi’s upcoming action film The Sweepers; the project will mark Stein’s acting debut. The film also...
- 9/6/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
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