Kaouther Ben Hania will make history for her native Tunisia on Sunday with its first Academy Award if her hotly tipped nominated work Four Daughters triumphs in the Best Documentary category on Sunday.
The director belongs to a generation of Tunisian filmmakers who emerged in the wake of their country’s so-called Jasmine Revolution, which ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in early 2011.
Habib Attia, who is one of the original producers on Four Daughters, has been an integral part of this movement too.
The Tunis-based producer has cinema in his blood as the son of late producer Ahmed Bahaeddine Attia, whose credits included Moufida Tlatli’s 1994 breakout The Silences of the Palace, starring Tunisian-Egyptian star Hend Sabry in her first major big screen role.
On finishing his high school studies, Attia headed to his mother’s native Italy to study engineering in Milan, rather than immediately following in his father’s footsteps.
The director belongs to a generation of Tunisian filmmakers who emerged in the wake of their country’s so-called Jasmine Revolution, which ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in early 2011.
Habib Attia, who is one of the original producers on Four Daughters, has been an integral part of this movement too.
The Tunis-based producer has cinema in his blood as the son of late producer Ahmed Bahaeddine Attia, whose credits included Moufida Tlatli’s 1994 breakout The Silences of the Palace, starring Tunisian-Egyptian star Hend Sabry in her first major big screen role.
On finishing his high school studies, Attia headed to his mother’s native Italy to study engineering in Milan, rather than immediately following in his father’s footsteps.
- 3/10/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Art can support political causes. We have seen example of this all around the world, and Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi shares this belief, stating “The cinema is highly important to support people and highlight their culture and identity anywhere”. In the light of the still ongoing war in Palestine, the director emphasizes the role of cinema as it “has highlighted the cause and affected a large audience inside and outside Palestine, especially some works that partook in international festivals qualified by their artistic value, not only their political view.” Masharawi has shown much support for the cinema of his home country, for example through many projects and the cultural center, which was sadly destroyed in the ongoing conflict.
In order to back his words with actions, he has established a fund to support cinema and filmmakers in Gaza which should help “a new generation of young filmmakers in Gaza, who...
In order to back his words with actions, he has established a fund to support cinema and filmmakers in Gaza which should help “a new generation of young filmmakers in Gaza, who...
- 1/21/2024
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Fipresci Jury Award-winning “A Gaza Weekend” made a splash at Toronto International Film Festival last week. Public and press alike flocked towards theaters for this film’s premiere weekend; each screening was packed. The film’s release could not have been more timely. Written during the swine flu and released after the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, British-Palestinian Basil Khalil pokes fun at plague paranoia in his narrative feature debut. In this punchy family-friendly comedy of the Gaza Strip, any and all traditional power hierarchies are out the window for the sake of survival.
A Gaza Weekend is screening at Red Sea International Film Festival
Like many films about Palestine, “A Gaza Weekend” follows the trajectory of a refugee couple – though this time, they’re from Israel. Englishman Michael (Stephen Mangan) and his Israeli partner Keren (Mouna Hawa) are desperate to leave the country after the outbreak...
A Gaza Weekend is screening at Red Sea International Film Festival
Like many films about Palestine, “A Gaza Weekend” follows the trajectory of a refugee couple – though this time, they’re from Israel. Englishman Michael (Stephen Mangan) and his Israeli partner Keren (Mouna Hawa) are desperate to leave the country after the outbreak...
- 12/3/2022
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Ameer Fakher Eldin’s “The Stranger” (Al Garib) will play as one of the last screenings of this year’s Arab Film Festival, the largest of its kind in North America. Though this is only Eldin’s first feature, his movie has reaped international accolades. “The Stranger” premiered at the 78th Venice Film Festival’s Giornate degli Autori last year, where it took home the Edipo Re Award. At the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Dp Niklas Landschau walked away for his Achievement in Cinematography. Now, “The Stranger” is up to bat next year as Palestine’s nomination for Best International Feature for the 94th Academy Awards.
The Stranger is screening at the Arab Film Festival
“The Stranger” revolves around Adnan (Ashraf Barhom), who has been dealt an unlucky hand in life. His father (Mohammad Bakri), for one, despises him. He arbitrarily writes Adnan off his will,...
The Stranger is screening at the Arab Film Festival
“The Stranger” revolves around Adnan (Ashraf Barhom), who has been dealt an unlucky hand in life. His father (Mohammad Bakri), for one, despises him. He arbitrarily writes Adnan off his will,...
- 11/22/2022
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Fipresci Jury Award-winning “A Gaza Weekend” made a splash at Toronto International Film Festival last week. Public and press alike flocked towards theaters for this film’s premiere weekend; each screening was packed. The film’s release could not have been more timely. Written during the swine flu and released after the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, British-Palestinian Basil Khalil pokes fun at plague paranoia in his narrative feature debut. In this punchy family-friendly comedy of the Gaza Strip, any and all traditional power hierarchies are out the window for the sake of survival.
A Gaza Weekend is screening at Toronto International Film Festival
Like many films about Palestine, “A Gaza Weekend” follows the trajectory of a refugee couple – though this time, they’re from Israel. Englishman Michael (Stephen Mangan) and his Israeli partner Keren (Mouna Hawa) are desperate to leave the country after the outbreak of a new deadly Ars virus.
A Gaza Weekend is screening at Toronto International Film Festival
Like many films about Palestine, “A Gaza Weekend” follows the trajectory of a refugee couple – though this time, they’re from Israel. Englishman Michael (Stephen Mangan) and his Israeli partner Keren (Mouna Hawa) are desperate to leave the country after the outbreak of a new deadly Ars virus.
- 9/20/2022
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Before director Rashid Masharawi, whose latest film “Diary of Rue Gabrielle” makes its world premiere at the Cairo Film Festival this week, started making films, there wasn’t much of a film industry in Palestine, beyond propaganda films by the Plo, he says.
“I was the first,” he says. “In the early days, festivals that were cautious about Middle East politics, didn’t know which country to assign me to. At one event I wore a badge saying ‘The Palestinian Director,’ ” he recalls.
His short film “The Shelter” (1988), which marked his debut on the international festival circuit, played at the Berlinale. It’s country of origin was marked Israel.
“Diary of Rue Gabrielle” is set in Montmartre, Paris, but “it’s about Palestine,” he says.
The film was shot in the Spring of 2020, once lockdown began in France. “I was [in Paris] preparing my next film when suddenly I was stuck,” he says.
“I was the first,” he says. “In the early days, festivals that were cautious about Middle East politics, didn’t know which country to assign me to. At one event I wore a badge saying ‘The Palestinian Director,’ ” he recalls.
His short film “The Shelter” (1988), which marked his debut on the international festival circuit, played at the Berlinale. It’s country of origin was marked Israel.
“Diary of Rue Gabrielle” is set in Montmartre, Paris, but “it’s about Palestine,” he says.
The film was shot in the Spring of 2020, once lockdown began in France. “I was [in Paris] preparing my next film when suddenly I was stuck,” he says.
- 12/1/2021
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
The Red Sea International Film Festival has set the lineup for its inaugural edition which runs from December 6-15 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The roster includes 138 titles from 67 countries and will open with MGM’s Joe Wright-directed musical romance Cyrano. The film previously played Telluride and Rome among others and releases domestically on December 31. Among highlights are also Netflix’s Venice Film Festival drama The Lost Daughter. Closing the Red Sea Fest is the world premiere of Egyptian director Amr Salama’s Bara El Manhag.
Sixteen films will run in the competition which is focused on films from Asia, Africa and the Arab world (see full list below). They will vie for the Golden Yusr Award as well as in individual directing, acting and writing categories. Among the titles screening are Hany Abu-Assad’s Huda’s Salon, Georgian Oscar submission Brighton 4th and Panah Panahi’s Hit The Road.
Kaleem Aftab,...
The roster includes 138 titles from 67 countries and will open with MGM’s Joe Wright-directed musical romance Cyrano. The film previously played Telluride and Rome among others and releases domestically on December 31. Among highlights are also Netflix’s Venice Film Festival drama The Lost Daughter. Closing the Red Sea Fest is the world premiere of Egyptian director Amr Salama’s Bara El Manhag.
Sixteen films will run in the competition which is focused on films from Asia, Africa and the Arab world (see full list below). They will vie for the Golden Yusr Award as well as in individual directing, acting and writing categories. Among the titles screening are Hany Abu-Assad’s Huda’s Salon, Georgian Oscar submission Brighton 4th and Panah Panahi’s Hit The Road.
Kaleem Aftab,...
- 11/9/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
The Middle East premiere of caustic Spanish comedy “Official Competition” will open the Cairo Film Festival, which has assembled a rich roster of international titles for its upcoming 43rd edition, to be held in person Nov. 26-Dec. 5.
Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat, who are co-directors of the colorful pic starring Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas — which turns on a billionaire businessman determined to bankroll a memorable movie — are expected, barring complications, to attend the regional launch of their Venice-premiering comedy.
Cairo, which is the grande dame of the Arab world’s cinema shindigs — and the only festival in the Middle East and North Africa region to be accorded category “A” status by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations in Paris (Fiapf) — has been subjected to some disruption lately caused by Saudi Arabia’s deep-pocketed Red Sea Festival.
The Red Sea Festival in May decided to move the dates for...
Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat, who are co-directors of the colorful pic starring Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas — which turns on a billionaire businessman determined to bankroll a memorable movie — are expected, barring complications, to attend the regional launch of their Venice-premiering comedy.
Cairo, which is the grande dame of the Arab world’s cinema shindigs — and the only festival in the Middle East and North Africa region to be accorded category “A” status by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations in Paris (Fiapf) — has been subjected to some disruption lately caused by Saudi Arabia’s deep-pocketed Red Sea Festival.
The Red Sea Festival in May decided to move the dates for...
- 11/8/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Red Sea International Film Fest Unveils Arab Spectacular
Titles from Rashid Masharawi, Dhafer L’Abidine and Joana Hadjithomas comprise the eight initial films selected under the Red Sea International Film Festival’s (RedSeaIFF) Arab Spectacular strand. The inaugural edition of the festival will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from December 6-15. Titles within the Arab Spectacular line-up include World Premiere of Recovery by Masharawi (Ticket to Jerusalem), L’Abidine’s feature debut directorial Ghodwa and Golden Bear nominee Memory Box (pictured) by Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige. Emmy-nominated director Jay Bulger and Karim Debbagh (Men In Black: International) also collaborate for Their Heads Are Green And Their Hands Are Blue. Films selected in this slate will cover Pan-Arab identity stories across Iraq, Palestine, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco, while also exploring women in society.
HanWay Films Strikes Deals For Paul Schrader’s ‘Master Gardener’
HanWay Films has acquired international sales...
Titles from Rashid Masharawi, Dhafer L’Abidine and Joana Hadjithomas comprise the eight initial films selected under the Red Sea International Film Festival’s (RedSeaIFF) Arab Spectacular strand. The inaugural edition of the festival will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from December 6-15. Titles within the Arab Spectacular line-up include World Premiere of Recovery by Masharawi (Ticket to Jerusalem), L’Abidine’s feature debut directorial Ghodwa and Golden Bear nominee Memory Box (pictured) by Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige. Emmy-nominated director Jay Bulger and Karim Debbagh (Men In Black: International) also collaborate for Their Heads Are Green And Their Hands Are Blue. Films selected in this slate will cover Pan-Arab identity stories across Iraq, Palestine, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco, while also exploring women in society.
HanWay Films Strikes Deals For Paul Schrader’s ‘Master Gardener’
HanWay Films has acquired international sales...
- 11/2/2021
- by Anuj Radia
- Deadline Film + TV
Five works in progress and 11 films in development due to be showcased at event running December 8-11.
The Red Souk, the industry component of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival’s project market, has unveiled fresh details for its inaugural edition running December 8-11.
Running within the framework of its larger parent festival, which will also mark its first edition this year from December 6-15, the souk will focus on Arab and African filmmakers and will feature a project market, work in progress screenings, an exhibition space and an industry talks programme.
Lebanese-French director Wissam Charaf’s Beirut-set romantic drama Dirty Difficult Dangerous,...
The Red Souk, the industry component of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival’s project market, has unveiled fresh details for its inaugural edition running December 8-11.
Running within the framework of its larger parent festival, which will also mark its first edition this year from December 6-15, the souk will focus on Arab and African filmmakers and will feature a project market, work in progress screenings, an exhibition space and an industry talks programme.
Lebanese-French director Wissam Charaf’s Beirut-set romantic drama Dirty Difficult Dangerous,...
- 9/30/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Mary Berry BBC Series
Great British Bake Off alum and Britain’s Best Home Cook judge Mary Berry is reteaming with BBC One for Mary Berry’s Fantastic Feasts. The three-part series, which will also air on iPlayer, sees Berry help novice cooks who want to surprise a loved one with a great meal, teaching them a selection of achievable, impressive dishes. On the day of the special event, Berry and two celebrity helpers will be on hand to assist. Mary Berry’s Fantastic Feasts is produced by Rumpus Media. Emily Hudd and Kelly Sparks are executive producers. Applications for aspiring cooks are open and an air date has yet to be set.
Viacom Buys Chilean TV Network
ViacomCBS Networks International has closed previously announced acquisition of Chilevisión from WarnerMedia. The acquisition includes Chilevisión’s free-to-air television network, which is Chile...
Great British Bake Off alum and Britain’s Best Home Cook judge Mary Berry is reteaming with BBC One for Mary Berry’s Fantastic Feasts. The three-part series, which will also air on iPlayer, sees Berry help novice cooks who want to surprise a loved one with a great meal, teaching them a selection of achievable, impressive dishes. On the day of the special event, Berry and two celebrity helpers will be on hand to assist. Mary Berry’s Fantastic Feasts is produced by Rumpus Media. Emily Hudd and Kelly Sparks are executive producers. Applications for aspiring cooks are open and an air date has yet to be set.
Viacom Buys Chilean TV Network
ViacomCBS Networks International has closed previously announced acquisition of Chilevisión from WarnerMedia. The acquisition includes Chilevisión’s free-to-air television network, which is Chile...
- 9/30/2021
- by Tom Grater, Nancy Tartaglione and Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
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
The London Palestine Film Festival (Lpff) opened with a Elia Suleiman’s most recent love letter to Palestine: “It Must Be Heaven” (2019). Suleiman first landed in global spotlight for his Palme D’Or nominated black comedy, “Divine Intervention” (2002). This year, he returned with another Palme d’Or nomination and walked away with the Cannes Film Festival Special Jury Prize and the Fipresci Prize for Best Film In Competition. While on the festival circuit, “It Must Be Heaven” garnered plenty of laughter and warm applause at Lpff – and perhaps invited further thought, as a fitting festival opener on redefining “Palestinian cinema.”
“It Must be Heaven” is screening at the London Palestine Film Festival 2019
“It Must Be Heaven” compiles cross-continental, well-choreographed vignettes of the essentialized absurdities featuring Suleiman himself. As Suleiman must navigate Nazareth, Paris, and New York City, he floats through each city as an Other: he neither belongs, nor does he seek to,...
“It Must be Heaven” is screening at the London Palestine Film Festival 2019
“It Must Be Heaven” compiles cross-continental, well-choreographed vignettes of the essentialized absurdities featuring Suleiman himself. As Suleiman must navigate Nazareth, Paris, and New York City, he floats through each city as an Other: he neither belongs, nor does he seek to,...
- 11/19/2019
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Over a decade since its conception, French-Palestinian co-production “Attente” has matured into a tale a little too close to home. The film originally received mixed reviews; some rapturously praise its private insights, whereas others stamp it with a tight-lipped “serviceable.” However, after more than fourteen years of Israel-Palestine back-and-forth, “Attente”‘s absurdist allegory has become all the more poignant. Masharawi spells out here the bitter truth of Palestinian purgatory: its rule as inescapable fate.
“Attente” packages a film-within-a-film. It stars film director Ahmad (Mohmoud Massad) set with a place to go (the European Union) and a place to leave. This changes when his friend, Abou Jamil (Abderrahman Abou El Qassem) wrings him into one last task: to recruit actors for the future Palestinian National Theatre. Ahmad embarks upon his project without enthusiasm. With television anchor Bissan (Areen Omari) and cameraman Mounir, dubbed “Lumiere” (Yousset Baroud), the three trek across refugee camps in Gaza,...
“Attente” packages a film-within-a-film. It stars film director Ahmad (Mohmoud Massad) set with a place to go (the European Union) and a place to leave. This changes when his friend, Abou Jamil (Abderrahman Abou El Qassem) wrings him into one last task: to recruit actors for the future Palestinian National Theatre. Ahmad embarks upon his project without enthusiasm. With television anchor Bissan (Areen Omari) and cameraman Mounir, dubbed “Lumiere” (Yousset Baroud), the three trek across refugee camps in Gaza,...
- 8/17/2019
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
After twenty-plus years since the initial Israel-Palestine peace talks, Rashid Masharawi’s 1998 film “Tension” is an apt reminder that war is not all blood and gore. The short film peels back the thin veil of Israeli occupation to expose repressed agitation, sewing together a seamless montage of the Palestinian subconscious. In a tour of Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, Masharawi tightly weaves together a patchwork spread of poverty and violence against the disillusioned backdrop of “peace.”
“Tension” collapses twenty-four hours into twenty-four minutes. It records the everyday lives of civilians within the region amidst the 1996-1999 tit-for-tat between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Israel. The film opens with a long shot of Palestinian workers marching towards the border gates at dawn. Traditional folk music tempts the viewer into the lull of the everyday: hopeful workers clamber into buses; marketmen peddle their goods; old men watch passerby from their stools.
“Tension” collapses twenty-four hours into twenty-four minutes. It records the everyday lives of civilians within the region amidst the 1996-1999 tit-for-tat between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Israel. The film opens with a long shot of Palestinian workers marching towards the border gates at dawn. Traditional folk music tempts the viewer into the lull of the everyday: hopeful workers clamber into buses; marketmen peddle their goods; old men watch passerby from their stools.
- 8/16/2019
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Compared to his other works, Rashid Masharawi’s urban comedy about a good man having an extremely bad day “Laila’s Birthday” (2008) seems less political. And it is less about politics and more about human relations, but it is not completely devoid of it. Frankly, it cannot be: it is portraying the life in West Bank under the Israeli occupation, with checkpoints outside of city borders, helicopters above the citizens’ heads and constant threat of war and violence coming from the outside and the inside. But on the ground level, it is absurd more than anything else.
Abu Laila (Mohammed Bakri) wakes up in fright early in the morning, says goodbye to his wife (Areen Omari), leaves the home in bad mood and drops off his daughter Laila (Nour Zoubi) at school. It is a very special day, the daughter’s birthday (hence the title) and Abu...
Abu Laila (Mohammed Bakri) wakes up in fright early in the morning, says goodbye to his wife (Areen Omari), leaves the home in bad mood and drops off his daughter Laila (Nour Zoubi) at school. It is a very special day, the daughter’s birthday (hence the title) and Abu...
- 7/24/2019
- by Marko Stojiljković
- AsianMoviePulse
“Nothing is moving, everything is destroyed.
It’s our land, yet it isn’t. What a strange country.”
In his 2002 film “Ticket to Jersusalem”, Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi portrays the daily routine of a film projectionist who travels back and forth between his home in the Palestinian refugee camps to the West Bank and Jerusalem. However, labeling his work as routine is in many ways misleading, as the checkpoints at the border as well as the long periods of waiting have taken their toll on the man. Crossing another border, namely between fact and fiction, the film also shows the real situation as the actors and crew are within people waiting to be allowed to pass, left alone with the excruciating observation of how divided their land is. The atmosphere in these scenes is one of helplessness, of exhaustion and the growing sensation matters will only get worse before there is any sign of improvement.
It’s our land, yet it isn’t. What a strange country.”
In his 2002 film “Ticket to Jersusalem”, Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi portrays the daily routine of a film projectionist who travels back and forth between his home in the Palestinian refugee camps to the West Bank and Jerusalem. However, labeling his work as routine is in many ways misleading, as the checkpoints at the border as well as the long periods of waiting have taken their toll on the man. Crossing another border, namely between fact and fiction, the film also shows the real situation as the actors and crew are within people waiting to be allowed to pass, left alone with the excruciating observation of how divided their land is. The atmosphere in these scenes is one of helplessness, of exhaustion and the growing sensation matters will only get worse before there is any sign of improvement.
- 3/23/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
“Don’t complicate what’s already too complicated.”
For his fourth feature film, Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi chose a topic which walks a very thin line between fact and fiction. Fittingly, he has called “Ticket to Jeruslam” repeatedly a “documentary fiction” that touches upon the topic of everyday life in Palestine, the conflicts in the settlements as well as the role of a cinema itself in an environment such as this.
In the film Gassan Abbas plays Jabir, a fim projectionist driving around the West Bank and all over Palestine to screen movies, mostly cartoons for children. However, at home, he uses the equipment to screen footage of police controls as well as the conflicts in his region, which has caused many arguments between him and his wife Sana (Areen Omari). During her job as a paramedic, she feels she already has seen her fair share of...
For his fourth feature film, Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi chose a topic which walks a very thin line between fact and fiction. Fittingly, he has called “Ticket to Jeruslam” repeatedly a “documentary fiction” that touches upon the topic of everyday life in Palestine, the conflicts in the settlements as well as the role of a cinema itself in an environment such as this.
In the film Gassan Abbas plays Jabir, a fim projectionist driving around the West Bank and all over Palestine to screen movies, mostly cartoons for children. However, at home, he uses the equipment to screen footage of police controls as well as the conflicts in his region, which has caused many arguments between him and his wife Sana (Areen Omari). During her job as a paramedic, she feels she already has seen her fair share of...
- 3/9/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
After the Madrid Peace conference in 1991, the negotiations in Oslo at 1993 and the autonomy accord in Cairo in 1994, the peace between Palestinians and Israelis looked like a possible prospect at the time. Rashid Masharawi takes a look at the way a number of different people react to the prospect of peace, inside a Palestinian refugee camp, with “Haifa”, which screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.
“Haifa” screened at
Festival des Cinémas d’Asie de Vesoul
There is a saying in Greece that could be translated as “you learn the truth from the very young and from the very crazy”. The second part of the saying fits perfectly Haifa, a middle-aged man who gets his nickname from the town he loves, and roams around the refugee camp in a military outfit, spurting words that make people perceive him as the town fool, but also seem quite close to the truth.
“Haifa” screened at
Festival des Cinémas d’Asie de Vesoul
There is a saying in Greece that could be translated as “you learn the truth from the very young and from the very crazy”. The second part of the saying fits perfectly Haifa, a middle-aged man who gets his nickname from the town he loves, and roams around the refugee camp in a military outfit, spurting words that make people perceive him as the town fool, but also seem quite close to the truth.
- 3/6/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
It is not a secret that Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas is a result of love for Asian countries, Asian culture, Asian films, and of romantic love. “This festival that was created by a couple – my wife and I celebrates its silver wedding anniversary, its 25 years of marriage. So the theme of couples is imperative.” explained Jean-Marc Thérouanne, founder and managing director of the festival to the Afp (Agence France Press).
Since its first edition in 1995, Viff of Asian Cinemas has welcomed more than half a million audience members, with 32.000 coming to the festival screenings in 2018 and “Women Speak” as its thematic setting.
“We have started in a phone booth, with 12 films and 1500 visitors. Now, we have become a festival with international recognition. In October 2018, we have had the honour to receive the Korean Cinema Awards, an accolade previously presented to the figures of the cinema industry such...
Since its first edition in 1995, Viff of Asian Cinemas has welcomed more than half a million audience members, with 32.000 coming to the festival screenings in 2018 and “Women Speak” as its thematic setting.
“We have started in a phone booth, with 12 films and 1500 visitors. Now, we have become a festival with international recognition. In October 2018, we have had the honour to receive the Korean Cinema Awards, an accolade previously presented to the figures of the cinema industry such...
- 2/7/2019
- by Anomalilly
- AsianMoviePulse
The El Gouna Film Festival (Gff) taking place in El Gouna, Egypt September 20 to 28 announced its film selection.
During their press conference attended by Gff founder Naguib Sawiris and El Gouna founder Samih Sawiris, Minister of Tourism Dr. Rania Al-Mashat under whose auspices the festival is held, a number of Gff’s International Advisory Board members, in addition to members of its international jury, and some of the directors, actors and producers of the participating films, Naguib Sawiris explaine the founding of this new festival which might possibly take up the slack caused by the cessation of the Dubai Film Festival:
We believe in the role art plays in the development of society and in challenging regressive ideas… that is why we established Gff.
This year, 15 films are participating in the Feature Narrative Competition, 12 films in the Feature Documentary Competition, 23 films in the Short Film Competition, as well as 5 films...
During their press conference attended by Gff founder Naguib Sawiris and El Gouna founder Samih Sawiris, Minister of Tourism Dr. Rania Al-Mashat under whose auspices the festival is held, a number of Gff’s International Advisory Board members, in addition to members of its international jury, and some of the directors, actors and producers of the participating films, Naguib Sawiris explaine the founding of this new festival which might possibly take up the slack caused by the cessation of the Dubai Film Festival:
We believe in the role art plays in the development of society and in challenging regressive ideas… that is why we established Gff.
This year, 15 films are participating in the Feature Narrative Competition, 12 films in the Feature Documentary Competition, 23 films in the Short Film Competition, as well as 5 films...
- 9/17/2018
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Non-profit cultural body aims to promote Arab cinema and launch an Oscars-style awards ceremony.
Top industry figures from across the Arab cinema world gathered at Diff yesterday for the launch of the Arab Film Institute (AFI).
Headquartered in Dubai, the non-profit cultural body aims to act as a platform for Arab cinema, past and present, and support its future development at every level, from production through to distribution and promotion.
Modelled loosely on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the new body will also launch an Oscar-style awards ceremony, the Arab Film Awards, covering 19 categories, from directing to cinematography and lifetime achievement.
Funding for the body will come through membership fees and patronage.
“Being a witness and active member of the bright and rich Arab film scene, I felt we needed to bring together all this energy and exchange experiences and ideas as well as offering wider opportunities in a fast-changing world to our...
Top industry figures from across the Arab cinema world gathered at Diff yesterday for the launch of the Arab Film Institute (AFI).
Headquartered in Dubai, the non-profit cultural body aims to act as a platform for Arab cinema, past and present, and support its future development at every level, from production through to distribution and promotion.
Modelled loosely on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the new body will also launch an Oscar-style awards ceremony, the Arab Film Awards, covering 19 categories, from directing to cinematography and lifetime achievement.
Funding for the body will come through membership fees and patronage.
“Being a witness and active member of the bright and rich Arab film scene, I felt we needed to bring together all this energy and exchange experiences and ideas as well as offering wider opportunities in a fast-changing world to our...
- 12/11/2016
- ScreenDaily
Event will focus on sustainable film production in the Arab world.
Cairo-based pan-Arab distributor and films promotions outfit Mad Solutions will launch a new development and production financing incubator, the Arab Cinema Lab at the upcoming Dubai Film Market in December.
Around 10 upcoming films will be showcased at the inaugural edition on December 12, including The Originals, the latest film from Egyptian director Marwan Hamed, best known for his 2006 The Yacoubian Building, and Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi’s Writing On Snow.
La-based Saudi director Aymen Khoja will also preview his upcoming soccer-themed work Shoot, produced under his Khoja Bros production banner and billed as the “first Saudi American film”.
An Egyptian James Bond-style feature — provisionally entitled Man Of The Impossible — will also be unveiled.
Mad Solutions co-founder and CEO Alaa Karkouti explained the aim of the event was to unveil productions that will be “the talk of the Arab cinema world next year”, source finance and stimulate discussion...
Cairo-based pan-Arab distributor and films promotions outfit Mad Solutions will launch a new development and production financing incubator, the Arab Cinema Lab at the upcoming Dubai Film Market in December.
Around 10 upcoming films will be showcased at the inaugural edition on December 12, including The Originals, the latest film from Egyptian director Marwan Hamed, best known for his 2006 The Yacoubian Building, and Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi’s Writing On Snow.
La-based Saudi director Aymen Khoja will also preview his upcoming soccer-themed work Shoot, produced under his Khoja Bros production banner and billed as the “first Saudi American film”.
An Egyptian James Bond-style feature — provisionally entitled Man Of The Impossible — will also be unveiled.
Mad Solutions co-founder and CEO Alaa Karkouti explained the aim of the event was to unveil productions that will be “the talk of the Arab cinema world next year”, source finance and stimulate discussion...
- 11/21/2016
- ScreenDaily
"Designed to inspire, and it works!" These were the first words out of my friend Ian's mouth as we exited "The Idol," Hany Abu-Assad's newest film. Three days later I was still feeling its effect and recommending it to people here at the Toronto Film Festival whenever we discussed the films we had been seeing.
This Palestine/ UK/ Qatar/ Netherlands production was inspired by the true story of Mohammed Assaf, a Palestinian who grew up in Gaza and whose voice became the voice of the nation when he won the Arab Idol contest in 2013.
International sales by Seville (eOne’s arthouse branch) were made before Tiff to some 20 territories including Benelux (September Films is the former Wild Bunch Benelux), France (TF1), Germany (Koch), Japan (New Select), Hong Kong (Edko), Hungary (Mtva), Australia (Umbrella), Latin America (California Filmes), Portugal (Outsider Films), South Africa (Times Media) Switzerland (Praesens), China (Beijing Xiangjiang YiHua Films), India (PVR), Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore (Red Pictures), Taiwan (Spring International), Former Yugoslavia (Discovery Films), Romania (Independenta), South Korea (Kaon Contents & Media) and Airlines (Captive). eOne will directly release the film in Spain. Mbc will distribute throughout the Middle East, including in Palestine and North Africa. Adopt Films just picked up U.S. rights.
This is a feel-good movie which gives a human voice to the Palestinian dilemma without being political or religious. It’s pure heart.
“The Idol” was coproduced by Image Nation of Abu Dhabi, Enjaaz -- a Dubai Film Market initiative -- Doha Film institute with support from the Netherlands Film Fund. Mbc also coproduced and is handling the film’s release in the Middle East and North Africa. September was the Dutch coproducer and is handling it in Benelux.
Speaking in Toronto with Hany Abu-Assad, he agreed, this film was designed carefully. And at its world premiere here in Toronto, he was so nervous. When the laughter from the audience happened at exactly the right moment, he knew the film worked the way he had envisaged. “They laughed and cried at the same time,” he said. He did not know even though the editing if the emotion will carry it. “You don’t know until you show it. When I knew that people laughed with the kids then I knew I had succeeded. The little laugh when the kids were chased told me it worked.”
“From the small laugh to another point here, and another here, a domino effect starts.”
The original script was written by Sameh Zoabi whose earlier film, "Man Without a Cell Phone" won the Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival Award for Sameh as Best Director. Hany gave the finished script to his (and my own) friend, colleague and script consultant, Annemarie Jacir, whose own film, "When I Saw You" premiered in Toronto in 2012 and won many awards including the Audience Prize at L.A. Film Festival in 2013 and at Amiens and the Netpac Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 2013. “She gave me some notes and worked on some of the dialogue."
I remarked how much I liked the joke about the distance between Gaza and Egypt being the same as the distance between Cuba and Florida and told him about a parallel joke made in the Cuban film “Barrio Cuba” when the Havana people call those coming from the east (Santiago de Cuba) “Palestinians”.
Aside from having a top-notch script, the entire film design was also successful because he worked with the same Dp Ehab Assal, Editor Eyas Salmon who was also editor of Tiff’s “Dégradé”, Production Designer and Art Director Nael Kanj and the Location Manager who all worked on his last film, the Academy Award nominated “Omar”. They have grown with him are now top quality artists and technicians who can work on both local and international productions.
“During ‘Omar’ we talked a lot about how the film would work, the concept, the core, the score, but on this film we spoke less. We knew each other better and it was much easier to shoot knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. And it was joyful and almost telepathic. We hoped this approach behind the camera would also inform the on-screen experience,” said Hany who also insisted on shooting on location in both Beirut and Cairo for the exterior scenes set in those cities so that the film would look and feel real.
The key to this film has always been authenticity both in front of and behind the camera. That is why “The Idol” is one of the first, if not the first, international production to shoot on location in Gaza, despite the logistical difficulties to get a film crew in and out safely. Set in the devastated landscapes of a Gaza still reeling from the month-long bombardment in 2014, Abu-Assad and his crew were still able to find great moments of beauty and surprise. The Gaza Parkour Team, for example, supply their amazing acrobatic display in the most surprising way in one moment, proving that art can thrive in even the most challenging of situations.
For more on "The Idol" read the pre Toronto reportage.
That desire for authenticity is also why Hany insisted on finding and employing real kids from Gaza to act in the film. The crew did a Gaza-wide search, holding casting sessions and rehearsals in schools across the area. Ultimately, the production was blessed to find four amazing Gazan children to star in the film, all first time actors, and all incredible natural performers.
The first half of the film takes place in a war-torn Gaza city which for
Mohammed Assaf, his sister Nour and their best friends Ahmad and Omar is a playground where they freely ride their bikes, play music, football and dare to dream big. Their band might play on second hand, beaten up instruments but their ambitions are sky-high. Their ambition is to play at the world famous Cairo Opera Hall.
The world around Mohammed shatters. Through it all, however, he retains the hope that his voice will somehow deliver him from the pain that surrounds him and bring joy to others. He sings at weddings, he drives a taxi to pay for his university studies. Even as the siege around Gaza intensifies, the prison around them ever more forbidding, Mohammed knows he has a rare gift, the ability to make people smile and forget their anxieties about day to day living.
On TV one evening he watches as the auditions for Arab Idol, the most popular show in the Arab world, take place in Cairo. The borders are closed. There is no way out. Somehow, he finds a way and makes it in front of the judges in Egypt. From there, destiny awaits, a chance to change his life and give a voiceless people the greatest feeling of all: the freedom to love, live and feel free.
However success in the weekly competitions bring on anxieties of a new kind, to be the one responsible for being the voice of his people, Palestine takes on more importance than his personal reasons for surviving and succeeding.
This film plays well to children and adults equally. The boy becomes a man, played by Tawfeek Barhom who played in last year's "Dancing Arabs" and switches gears to his escape to Egypt and his competing in the Arab Idol talent contest. At the very end, Tawfeek’s character becomes the real star, Mohammed Assaf. His voice was always used, even when Tawfeek was supposedly singing.
“I always ask myself why I want to make a movie and spend almost two years of my life working very hard to complete that movie. In the case of ‘The Idol’, the answer was clear and simple. The story of this young man, Muhammad Assaf, is such an incredible story that even somebody like me who, just three weeks earlier had won the Jury Prize of Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival, was more excited for Assaf to win Arab Idol than for myself. I was caught on camera between thousands of people gathered in the square in Nazareth to hear the final results for Arab Idol; I was jumping in excitement like a little kid, and I have not had this kind of excitement for a very long time. When Ali Jaafar offered for me to direct Muhammad Assaf’s story, my arms were covered in goosebumps. I knew immediately that I would do everything to make this story a movie.”
“I see ‘The Idol’ as the story of fighting and the will to survive under extreme circumstances. It’s a story of hope and success, where a brother and a sister were able to make from their disadvantages an advantage, and from the impossible possible, who come from nowhere to overcome all odds, beating poverty, oppression, and occupation. They have the ability to convert ugliness to beauty, which, in the end, is the power behind all art and the fuel to nurture hope.”
“The film was designed as a movie with no cultural barriers. You could be Chinese, American or Palestinian and you can appreciate the film. The very old and the very young can all understand the journey. It crosses religious lines. I meant to take a very specific story into a broader context.”
“The story of Mohammed Assaf is a once in a lifetime event, an opportunity to put a human face on a people who have all too often been marginalized and misrepresented. “
“At a time of unprecedented upheaval in the Arab world, with revolutions, civil wars, strife and extremism, Mohammed’s journey from humble wedding singer in Gaza, to the region’s hottest young star played out before our eyes weekly. Every Friday and Saturday night, for a few minutes, viewers could release themselves from the daily struggles and remember how to smile again.”
“Mohammed Assaf represents the spirit and symbol of what might be; of dreams coming true; of the impossible becoming, for a precious moment at least, entirely possible.”
“The children in the first audience loved it.”
“The girl is now with her family as refugees. They escaped and are seeking asylum in Europe. The three boys were in Toronto and one wanted to stay.
I’m happy I gave four Gazan kids the chance to see beyond the ghetto. They have special talent and their exposure now allows the world to come to them. Audiences love these children so much that they have offered to pay for their education. There was even an offer to adopt one. With paid-for education their futures are now more hopeful,” Hany said.
“The girl is so talented. She never acted before but she understood and loved the logic of shooting, of decoupage. ‘Is this a wide shot?’ she would ask. She spent three days asking about the lenses. On the second day an actor off camera forgot his lines. She continued to talk as if he were talking, as if he were acting. She came out of war. Two of her uncles were killed in the war. When you loose your fear of death you are enormously naked, exposed and you become more sensitized. She could become a great actress.”
“I’m glad I could do something for these four children”.
The Filmmaker
Hany Abu-Assad is one of the world’s most distinctive filmmakers. The two-time Academy Award-nominated director – “Paradise Now” (2006) and “Omar” (2013)- has won countless other awards including the Berlin International Film Festival’s prestigious Blue Angel award, Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes and the Special Jury Prize in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard.
He was born in Nazareth, Palestine in 1961. After having studied and worked as an airplane engineer in The Netherlands for several years, Abu-Assad entered the world of cinema as a producer and produced the feature film “Curfew”, directed by Rashid Masharawi, in 1994.
In 1998 he directed his first film, “The Fourteenth Chick”, from a script by writer Arnon Grunberg, followed by his documentary “Nazareth 2000”, his second feature film “Rana’s Wedding” and his second documentary “Ford Transit”.
In 2006 his film “Paradise Now” about two Palestinian men preparing for a suicide attack in Tel Aviv, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign language film in 2006.
In 2011 Abu-Assad finished working on “The Courier”, a Hollywood movie starring Jeffery Dean Morgan, Til Schweiger and Mickey Rourke.
Most recently, Abu-Assad’s “Omar”, which featured star-making performances from Adam Bakri and Leem Lubany, garnered the director his second Academy Award nomination for the edge-of-your seat thriller. The film won several worldwide prizes including the Jury Prize of Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival.
This Palestine/ UK/ Qatar/ Netherlands production was inspired by the true story of Mohammed Assaf, a Palestinian who grew up in Gaza and whose voice became the voice of the nation when he won the Arab Idol contest in 2013.
International sales by Seville (eOne’s arthouse branch) were made before Tiff to some 20 territories including Benelux (September Films is the former Wild Bunch Benelux), France (TF1), Germany (Koch), Japan (New Select), Hong Kong (Edko), Hungary (Mtva), Australia (Umbrella), Latin America (California Filmes), Portugal (Outsider Films), South Africa (Times Media) Switzerland (Praesens), China (Beijing Xiangjiang YiHua Films), India (PVR), Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore (Red Pictures), Taiwan (Spring International), Former Yugoslavia (Discovery Films), Romania (Independenta), South Korea (Kaon Contents & Media) and Airlines (Captive). eOne will directly release the film in Spain. Mbc will distribute throughout the Middle East, including in Palestine and North Africa. Adopt Films just picked up U.S. rights.
This is a feel-good movie which gives a human voice to the Palestinian dilemma without being political or religious. It’s pure heart.
“The Idol” was coproduced by Image Nation of Abu Dhabi, Enjaaz -- a Dubai Film Market initiative -- Doha Film institute with support from the Netherlands Film Fund. Mbc also coproduced and is handling the film’s release in the Middle East and North Africa. September was the Dutch coproducer and is handling it in Benelux.
Speaking in Toronto with Hany Abu-Assad, he agreed, this film was designed carefully. And at its world premiere here in Toronto, he was so nervous. When the laughter from the audience happened at exactly the right moment, he knew the film worked the way he had envisaged. “They laughed and cried at the same time,” he said. He did not know even though the editing if the emotion will carry it. “You don’t know until you show it. When I knew that people laughed with the kids then I knew I had succeeded. The little laugh when the kids were chased told me it worked.”
“From the small laugh to another point here, and another here, a domino effect starts.”
The original script was written by Sameh Zoabi whose earlier film, "Man Without a Cell Phone" won the Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival Award for Sameh as Best Director. Hany gave the finished script to his (and my own) friend, colleague and script consultant, Annemarie Jacir, whose own film, "When I Saw You" premiered in Toronto in 2012 and won many awards including the Audience Prize at L.A. Film Festival in 2013 and at Amiens and the Netpac Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 2013. “She gave me some notes and worked on some of the dialogue."
I remarked how much I liked the joke about the distance between Gaza and Egypt being the same as the distance between Cuba and Florida and told him about a parallel joke made in the Cuban film “Barrio Cuba” when the Havana people call those coming from the east (Santiago de Cuba) “Palestinians”.
Aside from having a top-notch script, the entire film design was also successful because he worked with the same Dp Ehab Assal, Editor Eyas Salmon who was also editor of Tiff’s “Dégradé”, Production Designer and Art Director Nael Kanj and the Location Manager who all worked on his last film, the Academy Award nominated “Omar”. They have grown with him are now top quality artists and technicians who can work on both local and international productions.
“During ‘Omar’ we talked a lot about how the film would work, the concept, the core, the score, but on this film we spoke less. We knew each other better and it was much easier to shoot knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. And it was joyful and almost telepathic. We hoped this approach behind the camera would also inform the on-screen experience,” said Hany who also insisted on shooting on location in both Beirut and Cairo for the exterior scenes set in those cities so that the film would look and feel real.
The key to this film has always been authenticity both in front of and behind the camera. That is why “The Idol” is one of the first, if not the first, international production to shoot on location in Gaza, despite the logistical difficulties to get a film crew in and out safely. Set in the devastated landscapes of a Gaza still reeling from the month-long bombardment in 2014, Abu-Assad and his crew were still able to find great moments of beauty and surprise. The Gaza Parkour Team, for example, supply their amazing acrobatic display in the most surprising way in one moment, proving that art can thrive in even the most challenging of situations.
For more on "The Idol" read the pre Toronto reportage.
That desire for authenticity is also why Hany insisted on finding and employing real kids from Gaza to act in the film. The crew did a Gaza-wide search, holding casting sessions and rehearsals in schools across the area. Ultimately, the production was blessed to find four amazing Gazan children to star in the film, all first time actors, and all incredible natural performers.
The first half of the film takes place in a war-torn Gaza city which for
Mohammed Assaf, his sister Nour and their best friends Ahmad and Omar is a playground where they freely ride their bikes, play music, football and dare to dream big. Their band might play on second hand, beaten up instruments but their ambitions are sky-high. Their ambition is to play at the world famous Cairo Opera Hall.
The world around Mohammed shatters. Through it all, however, he retains the hope that his voice will somehow deliver him from the pain that surrounds him and bring joy to others. He sings at weddings, he drives a taxi to pay for his university studies. Even as the siege around Gaza intensifies, the prison around them ever more forbidding, Mohammed knows he has a rare gift, the ability to make people smile and forget their anxieties about day to day living.
On TV one evening he watches as the auditions for Arab Idol, the most popular show in the Arab world, take place in Cairo. The borders are closed. There is no way out. Somehow, he finds a way and makes it in front of the judges in Egypt. From there, destiny awaits, a chance to change his life and give a voiceless people the greatest feeling of all: the freedom to love, live and feel free.
However success in the weekly competitions bring on anxieties of a new kind, to be the one responsible for being the voice of his people, Palestine takes on more importance than his personal reasons for surviving and succeeding.
This film plays well to children and adults equally. The boy becomes a man, played by Tawfeek Barhom who played in last year's "Dancing Arabs" and switches gears to his escape to Egypt and his competing in the Arab Idol talent contest. At the very end, Tawfeek’s character becomes the real star, Mohammed Assaf. His voice was always used, even when Tawfeek was supposedly singing.
“I always ask myself why I want to make a movie and spend almost two years of my life working very hard to complete that movie. In the case of ‘The Idol’, the answer was clear and simple. The story of this young man, Muhammad Assaf, is such an incredible story that even somebody like me who, just three weeks earlier had won the Jury Prize of Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival, was more excited for Assaf to win Arab Idol than for myself. I was caught on camera between thousands of people gathered in the square in Nazareth to hear the final results for Arab Idol; I was jumping in excitement like a little kid, and I have not had this kind of excitement for a very long time. When Ali Jaafar offered for me to direct Muhammad Assaf’s story, my arms were covered in goosebumps. I knew immediately that I would do everything to make this story a movie.”
“I see ‘The Idol’ as the story of fighting and the will to survive under extreme circumstances. It’s a story of hope and success, where a brother and a sister were able to make from their disadvantages an advantage, and from the impossible possible, who come from nowhere to overcome all odds, beating poverty, oppression, and occupation. They have the ability to convert ugliness to beauty, which, in the end, is the power behind all art and the fuel to nurture hope.”
“The film was designed as a movie with no cultural barriers. You could be Chinese, American or Palestinian and you can appreciate the film. The very old and the very young can all understand the journey. It crosses religious lines. I meant to take a very specific story into a broader context.”
“The story of Mohammed Assaf is a once in a lifetime event, an opportunity to put a human face on a people who have all too often been marginalized and misrepresented. “
“At a time of unprecedented upheaval in the Arab world, with revolutions, civil wars, strife and extremism, Mohammed’s journey from humble wedding singer in Gaza, to the region’s hottest young star played out before our eyes weekly. Every Friday and Saturday night, for a few minutes, viewers could release themselves from the daily struggles and remember how to smile again.”
“Mohammed Assaf represents the spirit and symbol of what might be; of dreams coming true; of the impossible becoming, for a precious moment at least, entirely possible.”
“The children in the first audience loved it.”
“The girl is now with her family as refugees. They escaped and are seeking asylum in Europe. The three boys were in Toronto and one wanted to stay.
I’m happy I gave four Gazan kids the chance to see beyond the ghetto. They have special talent and their exposure now allows the world to come to them. Audiences love these children so much that they have offered to pay for their education. There was even an offer to adopt one. With paid-for education their futures are now more hopeful,” Hany said.
“The girl is so talented. She never acted before but she understood and loved the logic of shooting, of decoupage. ‘Is this a wide shot?’ she would ask. She spent three days asking about the lenses. On the second day an actor off camera forgot his lines. She continued to talk as if he were talking, as if he were acting. She came out of war. Two of her uncles were killed in the war. When you loose your fear of death you are enormously naked, exposed and you become more sensitized. She could become a great actress.”
“I’m glad I could do something for these four children”.
The Filmmaker
Hany Abu-Assad is one of the world’s most distinctive filmmakers. The two-time Academy Award-nominated director – “Paradise Now” (2006) and “Omar” (2013)- has won countless other awards including the Berlin International Film Festival’s prestigious Blue Angel award, Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes and the Special Jury Prize in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard.
He was born in Nazareth, Palestine in 1961. After having studied and worked as an airplane engineer in The Netherlands for several years, Abu-Assad entered the world of cinema as a producer and produced the feature film “Curfew”, directed by Rashid Masharawi, in 1994.
In 1998 he directed his first film, “The Fourteenth Chick”, from a script by writer Arnon Grunberg, followed by his documentary “Nazareth 2000”, his second feature film “Rana’s Wedding” and his second documentary “Ford Transit”.
In 2006 his film “Paradise Now” about two Palestinian men preparing for a suicide attack in Tel Aviv, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign language film in 2006.
In 2011 Abu-Assad finished working on “The Courier”, a Hollywood movie starring Jeffery Dean Morgan, Til Schweiger and Mickey Rourke.
Most recently, Abu-Assad’s “Omar”, which featured star-making performances from Adam Bakri and Leem Lubany, garnered the director his second Academy Award nomination for the edge-of-your seat thriller. The film won several worldwide prizes including the Jury Prize of Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival.
- 5/3/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania is developing a new project inspired by the true story of a woman raped outside a beachfront nightclub in 2012.
“It follows her efforts to prove the crime and get justice. It’s based on true facts,” said Tunis-based producer Habib Attia of Cinetelefilms who is producing.
“We’ve managed to secure half the budget from Tunisia’s Ministry of Culture and are now researching international financing options.”
Ben Hania’s last work, mockumentary Challat Of Tunis, about a mysterious knife-wielding man who slashes women’s buttocks in the Tunisian capital, played in the Muhr Arab competition at last year’s Diff and also went on to screen in Cannes in the Acid selection.
The filmmaker also won Dubai Film Connection support for documentary Zaineb Hates The Snow in 2011.
Attia is also continuing to work on two other Dfc supported projects: Tunisian director Fares Naanaa’s A Full Moon Night and Rashid Masharawi’s Gaza...
“It follows her efforts to prove the crime and get justice. It’s based on true facts,” said Tunis-based producer Habib Attia of Cinetelefilms who is producing.
“We’ve managed to secure half the budget from Tunisia’s Ministry of Culture and are now researching international financing options.”
Ben Hania’s last work, mockumentary Challat Of Tunis, about a mysterious knife-wielding man who slashes women’s buttocks in the Tunisian capital, played in the Muhr Arab competition at last year’s Diff and also went on to screen in Cannes in the Acid selection.
The filmmaker also won Dubai Film Connection support for documentary Zaineb Hates The Snow in 2011.
Attia is also continuing to work on two other Dfc supported projects: Tunisian director Fares Naanaa’s A Full Moon Night and Rashid Masharawi’s Gaza...
- 12/15/2014
- ScreenDaily
Sudabeh Mortezai’s Macondo won the Firebird Award in the Young Cinema Competition of this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival (Hkiff), while Tetsuichiro Tsuta’s The Tale Of Iya took the Jury Prize.
The jury praised Macondo, an Austrian drama centring on an 11-year-old Chechnyan refugee, for its “simplicity and humanity [which] show great sensitivity to universal human problems”. Ayumi Sakamoto’s Forma received a special mention in the Young Cinema Competition.
The Firebird Award in the Documentary Competition went to Farida Pacha’s My Name Is Salt, while the Jury Prize went to Gu Tao’s The Last Moose Of Aoluguya and Bernard Bloch’s Meat And Milk received a special mention.
Hu Wei’s The Butter Lamp, about Tibetan nomads, won the Firebird Award in the Short Film Competition. The Jury Prize went to Leo Woodhead’s Cold Snap, while Janie Geiser’s Kriminalistik won the Internet Audience Award and Reka Bucsi’s [link...
The jury praised Macondo, an Austrian drama centring on an 11-year-old Chechnyan refugee, for its “simplicity and humanity [which] show great sensitivity to universal human problems”. Ayumi Sakamoto’s Forma received a special mention in the Young Cinema Competition.
The Firebird Award in the Documentary Competition went to Farida Pacha’s My Name Is Salt, while the Jury Prize went to Gu Tao’s The Last Moose Of Aoluguya and Bernard Bloch’s Meat And Milk received a special mention.
Hu Wei’s The Butter Lamp, about Tibetan nomads, won the Firebird Award in the Short Film Competition. The Jury Prize went to Leo Woodhead’s Cold Snap, while Janie Geiser’s Kriminalistik won the Internet Audience Award and Reka Bucsi’s [link...
- 4/8/2014
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Tunisian director Fares Naanaa’s A Full Moon Night, winner of the top Dubai Film Connection (Dfc) prize last year, will start shooting in February 2014.
“We’re still missing the money for post-production but we’re going to shoot it, make a rough cut of the film and try to finalise finance off that,” said Tunis-based producer Habib Attia of Cinetelefilms.
Popular Tunisian actor and comedian Lotfi Abdelli has signed to play the husband in the film about a couple whose marriage disintegrates after the death of their daughter. The role of the wife has yet to be cast.
The film will shoot in Tunis and the oasis city of Tozeur in south-west Tunisia. A Full Moon Night picked up $25,000 in award money at Dfc last year, as one of the three top Dfc prizewinners alongside Me, Myself And Murdoch and Batata. The film is budgeted at $800,000.
Attia has two films in the Muhr Arab Feature competition...
“We’re still missing the money for post-production but we’re going to shoot it, make a rough cut of the film and try to finalise finance off that,” said Tunis-based producer Habib Attia of Cinetelefilms.
Popular Tunisian actor and comedian Lotfi Abdelli has signed to play the husband in the film about a couple whose marriage disintegrates after the death of their daughter. The role of the wife has yet to be cast.
The film will shoot in Tunis and the oasis city of Tozeur in south-west Tunisia. A Full Moon Night picked up $25,000 in award money at Dfc last year, as one of the three top Dfc prizewinners alongside Me, Myself And Murdoch and Batata. The film is budgeted at $800,000.
Attia has two films in the Muhr Arab Feature competition...
- 12/12/2013
- ScreenDaily
The Dubai Film Connection (Dfc) handed out $115,000 in prize money on Thursday night, including the top three prizes of $25,000 which went to Ahmed Ibrahim’s Kharouf (Egypt), Leyla Bouzid’s God Protect My Daughter (Tunisia) and Ghada Terawi’s The Forgotten (Palestine).
Ibrahim’s Kharouf follows a man on the verge of leaving Egypt; while God Protect My Daughter captures pre-revolutionary Tunisia through the character of a rebellious teenager. The Forgotten tells the story of Japanese, pro-Palestinian activist Kozo Okamoto.
The $8,250 Arte International Prize went to Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi’s Gaza D.C., revolving around an ill-fated love story between a Us activist and a local man in the Gaza Strip.
The $6,800 Oif Prize, sponsored by Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, went to Alexandria-based Mark Lotfy’s documentary Dangerous Profiles, exploring how political activists in Egypt have created online avatars.
Palestinian Firas Khoury’s The Flag won the $10,000 Front Row/Kncc Award. Produced by [link...
Ibrahim’s Kharouf follows a man on the verge of leaving Egypt; while God Protect My Daughter captures pre-revolutionary Tunisia through the character of a rebellious teenager. The Forgotten tells the story of Japanese, pro-Palestinian activist Kozo Okamoto.
The $8,250 Arte International Prize went to Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi’s Gaza D.C., revolving around an ill-fated love story between a Us activist and a local man in the Gaza Strip.
The $6,800 Oif Prize, sponsored by Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, went to Alexandria-based Mark Lotfy’s documentary Dangerous Profiles, exploring how political activists in Egypt have created online avatars.
Palestinian Firas Khoury’s The Flag won the $10,000 Front Row/Kncc Award. Produced by [link...
- 12/11/2013
- ScreenDaily
Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) has unveiled the 16 projects that will take part in its annual co-production market Dubai Film Connection (Dfc).
The line-up includes 11 fiction and five documentary projects from around the Arab world. Fiction projects include Gaza, DC, from Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi (Palestine Stereo) and A Reverence For Spiders from Saudi Arabia’s Faiza Ambah (see full list below).
Now in its seventh year, Dfc has so far resulted in 35 films being completed with a further five in various stages of production. Completed projects include Haifaa Al Mansour’s Wadjda, Annemarie Jacir’s When I Saw You and The Repentant by Merzal Allouache.
“This year we have selected the most ambitious project slate to date,” said Diff managing director Shivani Pandya. “The total number and the overall caliber of entries far exceeded our expectations to the extent that we had to extend the parameters of the award to accommodate an extra selection – bringing the total...
The line-up includes 11 fiction and five documentary projects from around the Arab world. Fiction projects include Gaza, DC, from Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi (Palestine Stereo) and A Reverence For Spiders from Saudi Arabia’s Faiza Ambah (see full list below).
Now in its seventh year, Dfc has so far resulted in 35 films being completed with a further five in various stages of production. Completed projects include Haifaa Al Mansour’s Wadjda, Annemarie Jacir’s When I Saw You and The Repentant by Merzal Allouache.
“This year we have selected the most ambitious project slate to date,” said Diff managing director Shivani Pandya. “The total number and the overall caliber of entries far exceeded our expectations to the extent that we had to extend the parameters of the award to accommodate an extra selection – bringing the total...
- 11/12/2013
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
The 38th Toronto International Film Festival has released an incredible guest list of celebrated talent from around the globe. Filmmakers expected to present their world premieres in Toronto include: Catherine Breillat, Nicole Garcia, Pawel Pawlikowski, Bertrand Tavernier, Steve McQueen, Godfrey Reggio, Denis Villeneuve, Bill Condon, Jean-Marc Vallée, John Wells, Ralph Fiennes, Richard Ayoade, Atom Egoyan, Matthew Weiner, John Carney, Jason Reitman, Jason Bateman, Yorgos Servetas, Liza Johnson, Megan Griffiths, Fernando Eimbcke, Alexey Uchitel, Johnny Ma, Biyi Bandele, Rashid Masharawi, Paul Haggis, Ron Howard, Eli Roth, Álex de la Iglesia, Bruce McDonald, Jennifer Baichwal, John Ridley, and Justin Chadwick.
The Festival also welcomes thousands of producers and other industry professionals bringing films to us.
The following filmmakers and artists are expected to attend the Toronto International Film Festival:
Ahmad Abdalla, Hany Abu-Assad, Yuval Adler, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Alexandre Aja, Bruce Alcock, Gianni Amelio, Thanos Anastopoulos, Madeline Anderson, Nimród Antal, Louise Archambault,...
The Festival also welcomes thousands of producers and other industry professionals bringing films to us.
The following filmmakers and artists are expected to attend the Toronto International Film Festival:
Ahmad Abdalla, Hany Abu-Assad, Yuval Adler, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Alexandre Aja, Bruce Alcock, Gianni Amelio, Thanos Anastopoulos, Madeline Anderson, Nimród Antal, Louise Archambault,...
- 8/21/2013
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Final batch of Tiff titles were announced today and among the international hodgepodge of items trickling we find Berlin (Golden Bear winner Child’s Pose), Cannes (The Selfish Giant – Europa Cinemas Label winner and Stranger by the Lake by Alain Guiraudie), Karlovy Vary (Crystal Globe winner Le Grand Cahier ) and Locarno (Corneliu Porumboiu’s When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism) Film Fest items added to the Toronto Int. Film Festival’s Contemporary World Cinema lineup. Alongside those that have already premiered elsewhere, the titles that have got our attention are world premiere offerings from the likes of award-winning Icelandic helmer Ragnar Bragason (Metalhead), Revanche‘s Götz Spielmann (October November – see pic above) and Mexican filmmaker Fernando Eimbcke’s Club Sandwich. Here’s the added titles to the section which already includes: Catherine Martin’s A Journey (Une Jeune Fille), Ingrid Veninger’s The Animal Project, Terry Miles’ Cinemanovels, Bruce Sweeney...
- 8/13/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
The titles just keep coming as we are now just over three weeks away from the start of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival and they have gone and added 90 new feature length titles to the program and it's not as if they are titles you haven't heard of. New to the Galas selection is Guillaume Canet's Blood Ties which premiered at Cannes earlier this year (read my review here) and Words and Pictures starring Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche. In the Special Presentations selection you find the bulk of the more noted titles including Alex Gibney's new documentary The Armstrong Lie about cyclist Lance Armstrong, Johnnie To's Blind Detective which also premiered at Cannes, James Franco's Child of God based on the Cormac McCarthy novel, John Turturro's Fading Gigolo which features Woody Allen in one of the roles, Kevin Macdonald's How I Live Now...
- 8/13/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
World premieres of Kevin Macdonald’s How I Live Now, Fred Schepisi’s Words And Pictures and John Turturro’s Fading Gigolo are among the Tiff line-up of galas and special presentations.
The Contemporary World Cinema strand includes first views of Jan Hrebejk’s Honeymoon, Donovan Marsh’s iNumber Number and Fernando Coimbra’s A Wolf At The Door.
The Toronto International Film Festival is scheduled to run from Sept 5-15.
Wp = World premiere
IP = International premiere
Np = North American premiere
Cp = Canadian premiere
Tp = Toronto premiere
GALASBlood Ties Guillaume Canet (France-us) NAPBright Days Ahead (Les Beaux Jours) Marion Vernoux (France) NAPWords & Pictures Fred Schepisi (Us) Wpspecial Presentationsa Promise (Une Promesse) Patrice Leconte (Belgium-France) NAPThe Armstrong Lie Alex Gibney (Us) NAPBlind Detective Johnnie To (Hong Kong) NAPChild Of God James Franco (Us) NAPThe Face Of Love Arie Posin (Us) WPFading Gigolo John Turturro (Us) WPThe Finishers Nils Tavernier (Belgium-France) WPHow I Live Now Kevin Macdonald (UK) WPThe...
The Contemporary World Cinema strand includes first views of Jan Hrebejk’s Honeymoon, Donovan Marsh’s iNumber Number and Fernando Coimbra’s A Wolf At The Door.
The Toronto International Film Festival is scheduled to run from Sept 5-15.
Wp = World premiere
IP = International premiere
Np = North American premiere
Cp = Canadian premiere
Tp = Toronto premiere
GALASBlood Ties Guillaume Canet (France-us) NAPBright Days Ahead (Les Beaux Jours) Marion Vernoux (France) NAPWords & Pictures Fred Schepisi (Us) Wpspecial Presentationsa Promise (Une Promesse) Patrice Leconte (Belgium-France) NAPThe Armstrong Lie Alex Gibney (Us) NAPBlind Detective Johnnie To (Hong Kong) NAPChild Of God James Franco (Us) NAPThe Face Of Love Arie Posin (Us) WPFading Gigolo John Turturro (Us) WPThe Finishers Nils Tavernier (Belgium-France) WPHow I Live Now Kevin Macdonald (UK) WPThe...
- 8/13/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
World premieres of Kevin Macdonald’s How I Live Now, Fred Schepisi’s Words And Pictures and John Turturro’s Fading Gigolo are among the TIFF line-up of galas and special presentations announced on Tuesday [13].
The Contemporary World Cinema strand includes first views of Jan Hrebejk’s Honeymoon, Donovan Marsh’s iNumber Number and Fernando Coimbra’s A Wolf At The Door.
The Toronto International Film Festival is scheduled to run from Sept 5-15.
Wp = World premiere
IP = International premiere
Np = North American premiere
Cp = Canadian premiere
Tp = Toronto premiere
GALASBlood Ties Guillaume Canet (France-us) NAPBright Days Ahead (Les Beaux Jours) Marion Vernoux (France) NAPWords & Pictures Fred Schepisi (Us) Wpspecial Presentationsa Promise (Une Promesse) Patrice Leconte (Belgium-France) NAPThe Armstrong Lie Alex Gibney (Us) NAPBlind Detective Johnnie To (Hong Kong) NAPChild Of God James Franco (Us) NAPThe Face Of Love Arie Posin (Us) WPFading Gigolo John Turturro (Us) WPThe Finishers Nils Tavernier (Belgium-France) WPHow I Live Now [link...
The Contemporary World Cinema strand includes first views of Jan Hrebejk’s Honeymoon, Donovan Marsh’s iNumber Number and Fernando Coimbra’s A Wolf At The Door.
The Toronto International Film Festival is scheduled to run from Sept 5-15.
Wp = World premiere
IP = International premiere
Np = North American premiere
Cp = Canadian premiere
Tp = Toronto premiere
GALASBlood Ties Guillaume Canet (France-us) NAPBright Days Ahead (Les Beaux Jours) Marion Vernoux (France) NAPWords & Pictures Fred Schepisi (Us) Wpspecial Presentationsa Promise (Une Promesse) Patrice Leconte (Belgium-France) NAPThe Armstrong Lie Alex Gibney (Us) NAPBlind Detective Johnnie To (Hong Kong) NAPChild Of God James Franco (Us) NAPThe Face Of Love Arie Posin (Us) WPFading Gigolo John Turturro (Us) WPThe Finishers Nils Tavernier (Belgium-France) WPHow I Live Now [link...
- 8/13/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Compared with last year, Fortissmo Films come packing with only a single title, but that doesn't mean their sales agent won't be spending pretty much the entire festival from their rented office balcony. They signed a fairly ambitious deal with Fox - first time I've heard of a major studio outputting their titles to a films sales company of this nature and they've got one receiving a world preem at the festival in Sergei Loznitsa's My Joy. - Compared with last year, Fortissmo Films come packing with only a single title, but that doesn't mean their sales agent won't be spending pretty much the entire festival from their rented office balcony. They signed a fairly ambitious deal with Fox - first time I've heard of a major studio outputting their titles to a films sales company of this nature and they've got one receiving a world preem at the...
- 5/12/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Compared with last year, Fortissmo Films come packing with only a single title, but that doesn't mean their sales agent won't be spending pretty much the entire festival from their rented office balcony. They signed a fairly ambitious deal with Fox - first time I've heard of a major studio outputting their titles to a films sales company of this nature and they've got one receiving a world preem at the festival in Sergei Loznitsa's My Joy (see pic) has the unique distinction of being from a first-timer – it's a rare feat to see a first timer in the Main Comp – so, we might be looking at a gem here folks. Among the hot titles on the sales side of things is Anh Hung Tran's Norwegian Wood – a pic that I was sure was going to land a spot in Cannes this year, but appears to still be in post prod.
- 5/12/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
A stray Chabrol, the next Juno and more Toni Servillo brilliance are among this year's hidden gems on the festival circuit. Hunt them down now before they're buried for ever
Home festivaling is one of the few perks of losing mobility through a back injury. What better way to cover 300+ screen events across the UK for Empire Online's Festivals & Seasons page than letting them come to you? Much festival fare falls squarely into the three-star category. But, every now and then, a disc arrives in the post containing a gem that leaves you wondering how the distributors missed it. So here's a personal selection of the festival favourites that have either failed to secure a UK release in 2009 or are not currently on the schedule for next year.
10) Let's Dance (dir. Noémie Lvovsky, France)
Festivals are invariably stuffed with quirky ensemble pieces, with Laís Bodanzky's superbly choreographed The Ballroom...
Home festivaling is one of the few perks of losing mobility through a back injury. What better way to cover 300+ screen events across the UK for Empire Online's Festivals & Seasons page than letting them come to you? Much festival fare falls squarely into the three-star category. But, every now and then, a disc arrives in the post containing a gem that leaves you wondering how the distributors missed it. So here's a personal selection of the festival favourites that have either failed to secure a UK release in 2009 or are not currently on the schedule for next year.
10) Let's Dance (dir. Noémie Lvovsky, France)
Festivals are invariably stuffed with quirky ensemble pieces, with Laís Bodanzky's superbly choreographed The Ballroom...
- 12/21/2009
- by David Parkinson
- The Guardian - Film News
Rashid Masharawi’s latest film, Laila’S Birthday, is a film both daring and sweet, a story about a world turned upside down and a man who is simply trying to navigate his way through a day in it.
Mohammed Bakri plays Abu Laila, a judge who, due to lack of government funding, must drive a cab to make ends meet. The film takes place on his daughter, Laila’s, seventh birthday, and we venture through the complex streets of Ramallah with Abu Laila as he attempts to make it through his seemingly endless day.
Masharawi’s film is a daily look at the lives of the people who inhabit this occupied city, but it is also a testament to those who are attempting to make due. Abu Laila wants what is best for his family, and the confusion of the world they live in slowly begins chipping away at him.
Mohammed Bakri plays Abu Laila, a judge who, due to lack of government funding, must drive a cab to make ends meet. The film takes place on his daughter, Laila’s, seventh birthday, and we venture through the complex streets of Ramallah with Abu Laila as he attempts to make it through his seemingly endless day.
Masharawi’s film is a daily look at the lives of the people who inhabit this occupied city, but it is also a testament to those who are attempting to make due. Abu Laila wants what is best for his family, and the confusion of the world they live in slowly begins chipping away at him.
- 11/12/2009
- by Kirk
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
With Cannes now wrapped up, this week finds everyone on the move as a trio of Indian workers go to Michigan, Sam Raimi goes home and Karl Fredricksen and his yappy companion go, well, up.
Download this in audio form (MP3: 07:59 minutes, 11 Mb) Subscribe to the In Theaters podcast: [Xml] [iTunes]
"Departures"
Best known as the unknown film that won the Best Foreign Language Oscar, Japanese director Yojiro Takita's tonally eccentric story of guilt and self-realization finally gets a chance to prove its bonafides. Crushed by the dismantling of his Tokyo-based orchestra, newly unemployed cellist Daigo Kobyashi (Masahiro Motoki) returns to his sleepy hometown to work performing burial rituals at a funeral home, a job that slowly transitions from a necessity to a duty to a calling. In Japanese with subtitles.
Opens in limited release.
"Drag Me To Hell"
The first film from Ghost House Pictures to actually be directed by the boss,...
Download this in audio form (MP3: 07:59 minutes, 11 Mb) Subscribe to the In Theaters podcast: [Xml] [iTunes]
"Departures"
Best known as the unknown film that won the Best Foreign Language Oscar, Japanese director Yojiro Takita's tonally eccentric story of guilt and self-realization finally gets a chance to prove its bonafides. Crushed by the dismantling of his Tokyo-based orchestra, newly unemployed cellist Daigo Kobyashi (Masahiro Motoki) returns to his sleepy hometown to work performing burial rituals at a funeral home, a job that slowly transitions from a necessity to a duty to a calling. In Japanese with subtitles.
Opens in limited release.
"Drag Me To Hell"
The first film from Ghost House Pictures to actually be directed by the boss,...
- 5/25/2009
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
MADRID -- The latest films from Daniel Burman, Christopher Honore, Kim Ki-duk and Jaime Rosales will compete at the 56th annual San Sebastian International Film Festival, organizers said Thursday as they revealed the first seven titles in the official section.
Burman, who won the Silver Bear at Berlin in 2004 with "Lost Embrace", comes to San Sebastian with "The Empty Nest".
Honore's "La Belle Personne", transports the classic novel "La Princesse de Cleves" to present-day Paris, starring Louis Garrel, while Korean director Kim will screen his look at hidden desires, "Bi Mong" (Dream), and Rosales returns to San Sebastian with "Tiro en la Cabeza" (Shot in the Head).
Danish director Kristian Levring's "Fear Me Not", co-written with Oscar winner Anders Thomas Jensen, and Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi's look at daily life in Ramallah, "Laila's Birthday", also will compete, along with U.S. director Courtney Hunt's directorial debut, "Frozen River".
Also rumored to be screening at this year's fest is Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona". Festival organizers had no comment on local media reports that the comedy, which filmed in Spain and debuted at May's Festival de Cannes, will unspool in the seaside town.
Burman, who won the Silver Bear at Berlin in 2004 with "Lost Embrace", comes to San Sebastian with "The Empty Nest".
Honore's "La Belle Personne", transports the classic novel "La Princesse de Cleves" to present-day Paris, starring Louis Garrel, while Korean director Kim will screen his look at hidden desires, "Bi Mong" (Dream), and Rosales returns to San Sebastian with "Tiro en la Cabeza" (Shot in the Head).
Danish director Kristian Levring's "Fear Me Not", co-written with Oscar winner Anders Thomas Jensen, and Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi's look at daily life in Ramallah, "Laila's Birthday", also will compete, along with U.S. director Courtney Hunt's directorial debut, "Frozen River".
Also rumored to be screening at this year's fest is Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona". Festival organizers had no comment on local media reports that the comedy, which filmed in Spain and debuted at May's Festival de Cannes, will unspool in the seaside town.
- 6/26/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- Ioncinema.com presents: Best of Fests Tromsø International Film Festival When: January 16th to 21st, 2007 Counting Down: updateCountdownClock('January 16, 2007'); Where: Location: Tromsø, NorwayOfficial Website: http://www.tiff.no/What: Tiff is a popular film festival for our audience, and at the same time an important meeting point for Norwegian and international film industry. TIFF07 will be Tromsø's 17th international film festival. Tromsø International Film Festival had in 2006 a total admission of 44 804. This makes Tiff Norway' largest festival.Accredited: No Film Line Up:Opening NightSPANDEXMAN - Bobbie Peers, 2007Winterland - Hisham Zaman, 2006Closing NightONCE In A Lifetime - John Dower, Paul Crowder, 2005Competition ProgramBORDERPOST - Rajko Grlic , 2006Born And Bred - Pablo Trapero , 2006Chronicle Of An Escape - Isreal Adrián Caetano, 2006Colossal Youth - Pedro Costa, 2006Family Ties - Kim Tae-Yong, 2006Glue - Alexis Dos Santos, 2005Gypo - Jan Dunn, 2005Longing - Valeska Grisebach, 2006Lucy - Henner Winckler, 2006Requiem -
- 1/13/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
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