News

The Teacher, the feature debut of British-Palestinian director Farah Nabulsi that recently had it world premiere in Toronto, has been acquired by Front Row Filmed Entertainment for the Middle East and North Africa.

The deal marks the second collaboration between Nabulsi and Front Row, with the Dubai-based banner having distributed and globally sold her previous short film The Present to Netflix, prior to it landing an BAFTA award and an Oscar nomination.

Set and shot in the West Bank city of Nablus and staring Saleh Bakri (Alam, The Blue Caftan) and Imogen Poots (The Father, HBO’s I Know This Much Is True), The Teacher follows the story of a Palestinian school teacher as he struggles to reconcile his life-threatening commitment to political resistance with his emotional support for one of his students and the chance of a new romantic relationship with a British volunteer worker. Sawsan Asfari (Hany Abu-Assad...

Dubai-based distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment has boarded Mena distribution of Palestinian drama The Teacher, which enjoyed a buzzy world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival over the weekend.

The acquisition marks the company’s second collaboration with British-Palestinian director Farah Nabulsi.

It previously distributed her Oscar-nominated and Bafta-winning short film The Present, selling it to streaming giant Netflix prior it buzzy 2021 awards season run.

The Teacher is produced by Sawsan Asfari (Huda’s Salon), Osama Bawardi and Nabulsi.

Saleh Bakri (The Blue Caftan) stars as a Palestinian school teacher, struggling to reconcile his life-threatening commitment to political resistance with his emotional support for one of his students and the chance of a new romantic relationship with a British volunteer worker, played by Imogen Poots.

The film was shot entirely in the West Bank in the city of Nablus.

Toronto — TIFF today unveiled the 10 World Premiere features that comprise the Platform programme for 2023, along with the 2023 Platform jury members: Academy Award–winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins, joined by Cannes Jury Prize–winning director, writer, and actor Nadine Labaki, and 2022 Platform Prize–winning filmmaker Anthony Shim.

Since its introduction in 2015, Platform has celebrated and showcased films with unique directorial perspectives. The 10 films in the 2023 programme are eligible for the Platform Prize, an award of $20,000 Cad given to the best film in the programme, selected by an in-person international jury.

“I am delighted to announce that we have an international dream jury with acclaimed filmmakers Barry Jenkins, Nadine Labaki, and Anthony Shim as jury members for the Platform programme at TIFF,” said Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, TIFF. “Together, they represent the bold and independent spirit of the Platform Prize.”

Platform is TIFF’s competitive programme that champions bold directorial visions. The...

Having already announced documentary as well as gala and special presentation lineups, TIFF now unveils 10 world premiering films selected for this year’s Platform program. The 2023 Platform jury is also revealed today, consisting of of Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins, Cannes Jury Prize-winning director, writer, and actor Nadine Labaki and Anthony Shim, whose 2022 film Riceboy Sleeps won the Platform Prize last year. The Platform Prize—consisting of $20,000 Cad—is given to the best film as selected by the jury. Notable past recipients of the Platform Prize also include Hany Abu-Assad’s Huda’s Salon (2021), Kamila Andini’s Yuni (2021), Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal (2019), Alice Winocour’s Proxima (2019), […]

The post TIFF Reveals 2023 Platform Lineup and Jury first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Having already announced documentary as well as gala and special presentation lineups, TIFF now unveils 10 world premiering films selected for this year’s Platform program. The 2023 Platform jury is also revealed today, consisting of of Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins, Cannes Jury Prize-winning director, writer, and actor Nadine Labaki and Anthony Shim, whose 2022 film Riceboy Sleeps won the Platform Prize last year. The Platform Prize—consisting of $20,000 Cad—is given to the best film as selected by the jury. Notable past recipients of the Platform Prize also include Hany Abu-Assad’s Huda’s Salon (2021), Kamila Andini’s Yuni (2021), Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal (2019), Alice Winocour’s Proxima (2019), […]

The post TIFF Reveals 2023 Platform Lineup and Jury first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

The Toronto Film Festival on Wednesday revealed the 10 titles in its Platform program, a sidebar that will tee off with A24’s Kristoffer Borgli comedy Dream Scenario starring Nicolas Cage. This year’s Platform includes movies from 12 countries across three continents, all of which are making their world premiere at TIFF, which this year runs from September 7-17.

In addition, the fest today unveiled this year’s Platform jury, which includes Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins as chair; Cannes Jury Prize–winning director, writer, and actor Nadine Labaki; and 2022 Platform Prize–winning filmmaker Anthony Shim.

The Platform program, going into its eighth year, is curated for its bold directorial visions. The movies in the 2023 program are eligible for the Platform Prize, an award of CA$20,000 selected by the in-person international jury.

Barry Jenkins

“I am delighted to announce that we have an international dream jury with acclaimed filmmakers Barry Jenkins, Nadine Labaki,...

The Toronto International Film Festival has today announced the 10 world premiere features that comprise its Platform program for the 2023 edition, along with the 2023 Platform jury members: Academy Award–winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins serves as jury chair; joined by Cannes Jury Prize–winning director, writer, and actor Nadine Labaki; and 2022 Platform Prize–winning filmmaker Anthony Shim. Both Jenkins and Shim have previously shown work in the section, and Shim was awarded program’s highest prize in 2022 for his “Riceboy Sleeps.”

Per TIFF, “Since its introduction in 2015, Platform has celebrated and showcased films with unique directorial perspectives.” The section is the fest’s “competitive program that champions bold directorial visions.” The films selected for this year’s lineup come from 12 countries across three continents, all of which will be making their world premiere at TIFF.

This year’s lineup includes new films from Kristoffer Borgli, whose razor-sharp “Sick of Myself” recently hit America,...

Toronto announced the 10 world premieres in its Platform program, a section comprised of first-time feature filmmakers and vets whose voices are emerging in the cinematic landscape.

“We launched Platform to shine a brighter light on some of the most original films and distinct voices at our Festival,” said Cameron Bailey, TIFF CEO. “Now in year seven, it’s become a true home for international auteurs on the rise.”

Named after Jia Zhang-ke’s groundbreaking second feature, Platform is curated by TIFF Chief Programming Officer Anita Lee; Director, Festival Programming Robyn Citizen; and Senior Manager, Festival Programming Ravi Srinivasan.

“Eclectic in vision, this year’s selection not only represents all World Premieres of exciting, on-the-rise voices from around the world, but it also reflects the very timely and unique perspectives of racialized filmmakers from diasporic communities broadening the canvas,” said Lee.

Of the ten Platform titles making their world premiere at TIFF,...

The Toronto International Film Festival today revealed the 10 feature films that will make up its Platform section. The festival, which runs September 8 through 18 this year, annually hosts the Platform vertical to shine a light on first-time and veteran filmmakers and their bold directorial visions from around the globe.

The program’s opening night selection is the directorial debut of actor Frances O’Connor, “Emily,” which centers on author Emily Brontë and the years leading up to the publication of her novel “Wuthering Heights.” Notably the selection also includes two Canadian films as well as the latest movie from Maïmouna Doucouré, the director of 2020’s controversial “Cuties.” All 10 films in the program are world premieres.

“We launched Platform to shine a brighter light on some of the most original films and distinct voices at our Festival,” said Cameron Bailey, the CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival. “Now in year seven, it...

Ten features selected for competitive strand championing bold visions.

Frances O’Connor’s feature directorial debut Emily will open 2022 Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) Platform, the competitive section championing bold visions which also includes Hawa from French director Maïmouna Doucouré.

Emily charts the romantic life of Emily Brontë in the lead-up to her classic novel Wuthering Heights. Hawa, the follow-up to Doucouré’s 2020 Sundance and Berlin entry Cuties, centres on a teenage girl who sets off to get adopted by one of the most powerful women in the world.

The 10 Platform selections feature Subtraction from Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi, the...

Egyptian director Omar El Zohairy’s absurdist social satire “Feathers,” in which the good-for-nothing husband of a woman with three children is turned into a chicken, is the big winner of the sixth edition of the Critics’ Awards for Arab Films.

The biting black comedy, winner of last year’s Cannes Critics’ Week prize, scooped best film, director and screenplay at the prizes organized by Cairo-based Arab Cinema Centre (Acc) and voted on by 167 film critics from 68 countries, who viewed the films on Festival Scope.

Nominees are chosen among Arab-language films that premiered on the festival circuit outside of the Arab world in 2021. The awards were announced on Sunday in Cannes.

“Feathers,” which took six years to get to the big screen, was produced by Juliette Lepoutre from Still Moving (France), in co-production with Mohamed Hefzy’s Film Clinic (Egypt), Shahinaz Al Akkad from Lagoonie Film (Egypt), Derk-Jan Warrink and...

167 film critics from 68 countries voted on the awards organised by the Arab Cinema Centre.

Egyptian director Omar El Zohairy’s social satire Feathers, which won the top prize at Cannes Critics’ Week last year, has swept the board at the sixth edition of the Critics’ Awards for Arab Films.

The film, which was nominated in four categories, won best film, director and screenplay.

This year’s edition of the awards, spearheaded by the Cairo-based Arab Cinema Centre (Acc), focuses on Arab-language films that premiered on the festival circuit outside of the Arab world in 2021.

It was voted on by 167 film critics from 68 countries,...

Past best film awards from the previous five editions include Wajib, Yomeddine and Gaza Mon Amour.

Jordanian director Bassel Ghandour’s The Alleys and Egyptian director Omar El Zohairy’s Feathers lead the nominations in the sixth edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films.

The films each garnered nominations in four categories, including best film, director and screenplay.

Spearheaded and run by the Cairo-based Arab Cinema Centre (Acc), this edition focused on Arab-language films that premiered on the festival circuit outside of the Arab world in 2021.

It was voted on by 167 film critics from 68 countries, who viewed the films on Festival Scope.

Arab cinema is going from strength to strength with a run of really good, successful, films from across the region telling authentic and compelling stories that have captured the hearts and minds of global audiences. During Cannes, filmmakers from the region will come together on May 21 at 10 am at the Marina Stage in the Riviera to discuss the future of Arab cinema and discuss the opportunities and challenges that need to be addressed in order to build a robust industry that will elevate Arab cinema and command the attention it deserves.

This year there are nine films in the Festival Competition, Un Certain Regard, Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week plus four projects in L’Atelier. They are listed below.

Saudi Film Commission will host a Conference and a panel on the State of Arabia with Lotfy Nathan, producer, director, writer whose work in progress Harka won the US 30,000 award at the 2021 Red Sea Film Festival and is now premiering in Un Certain Regard. Also on the panel is Mohammed Hefzy, producer, writer and Aymebn Khoja, producer, director, writer and to be moderated by Liz Shackelton, Screen International Asia Editor

My Choices for Feature Film: ‘Europa’, Selected Documentary Film: ‘Republic Of Silence’, Selected Actor: Adam Ali, Selected Actress: Maisa Abd Elhadi, Selected Director: Ayten Amin, Selected Screenplay: Ayten Amin — Mahmoud Ezzat

Panelist #1 Lotfy Nathan is the recipient of The Red Sea Fund cash prize awarded in 2021 by the Red Sea Souk Jury. The Red Sea Souk Award grant of US 30,000 was presented for his film Harka aka Contra aka Before the Spring, a “simple, tragic parable” as described by Nathan, about Ali, a young Tunisian making a precarious living selling contraband gas as he faces an impending eviction and is forced to take care of his two younger sisters, who, in real life, precipitated the Arab Spring with his act of defiance demanding dignity. His choice became the symbol of a silenced generation trying to be heard. His film Harka is in Un Certain Regard in the Cannes Film Festival 2022! The international sales agent is Constellation.

Harka

Nathan is an American filmmaker of Egyptian descent. His first feature film, the documentary 12 O’Clock Boys, for which he received the HBO Emerging Artist Award, was selected in over 50 international festivals, including SXSW, Sundance LA, Lincoln Center, Viennale, Hot Docs, London and Copenhagen. It is distributed in the United States by Oscilloscope and has been purchased by Showtime and Amazon as well as being optioned by Will Smith’s company, Overbrook Entrertainement to adapt into a drama. In 2015, Lotfy was a recipient of the Creative Capital and participated in a Cinereach Foundation director’s residency. He had previously been a recipient of the Garrett Scott Fund, the Peter Reed Foundation, the Grainger Marburg Fund, and the IFP Fellowship. This, his first feature film, was developed in the Sundance Film Institute’s Screenwriting Lab in 2016 and is now in post-production.

The film’s producer Julie Viez started her career in the film industry at Warner Bros Emea (Europe Middle East Asia). She then focused on independent film production, working for companies such as Pan-Européenne, The Film, and CG Cinema. She works on an international scale and produces a wide range of budgets. In 2019 Julie shot La Salamandre , the debut feature of director Alex Carvalho which premiered at Venice’s Settimana in 2021. She is developing several ambitious features and series, among which the next features by Cannes-nominated directors Abu Bakr Shawky, Jonathan Littell, Morgan Simon, and Marie Monge.

The third partner are the producers of The Man Who Sold His Skin, Academy Award Nomination 2020 — see my previous blog on that film — whose director, Kaouther Ben Hania, is now President of the Jury for Critics Week.).

Panelist #2 is the prolific Egyptian screenwriter and producer Mohamed Hefzy, with a constantly growing filmography of 30 feature films including worldwide acclaimed titles such as Huda’s Salon (2021) Feathers (2021), Souad (2021) You Will Die at Twenty (2019), Youmeddine (2018), and Clash (2016). He has served as a jury member in various international festivals including the 75th Venice International Film Festival. As of its 40th edition and for four consecutive years; Mohamed Hefzy was the appointed President of the Cairo International Film Festival.

In 2005, He founded Film Clinic; the now pioneer production house in the Mena region with a variety of commercial blockbusters and arthouse films that have participated in major film festivals worldwide including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Sundance, Toronto, and Tribeca with more than 80 international awards under its belt. Later Hefzy founded Film Clinic Indie Distribution, with a mission to create opportunities for Arab independent films within and beyond festival circuits & Co- founded Meem Creative Circle which produced Netflix’s first Egyptian original series Paranormal.

Hefzy was cited among 30 future leaders in film production by Screen International, headed Variety’s list of Ten Names You Need to Know in the Arab Film Industry and was among Variety’s 500 list of the most influential people in the media industry worldwide. He was granted the Arab Cinema Personality of the Year award by the Hollywood Reporter & Arab Cinema Center. Hefzy is an official member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts And Sciences in the producers’ branch. In recognition of his significant contribution to the Arab film scene, He was honored as a “Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres” from France.

Panelist #3 is Aymen Khoja, a film producer-director committed to bold voices and innovative forms to bridge cultures and to clear up any misunderstandings.

Over six years of experience producing and directing with international studios and production companies, such as Mbc Studios the biggest broadcaster in the Middle East and Viu, the No1 streaming platform east of Asia. Aymen has filmed in different cities all over the world from Los Angeles, Dubai, Abu-Dhabi, Bucharest, Cairo, to Jeddah. He successfully delivers high-quality films and series on time within budget.

In 2016 Aymen co-founded Khoja Brothers Productions and managed to fund, direct, co-produce, co-write his first feature film Shoot Aka The Arabian Warrior, and successfully released it theatrically then sold it to Sony Pictures, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Apple, and lastly Shahid. Aymen’s debut making ultra-low-budget films made him emphasize story quality, maximize creativity, and carefully spend every dollar.

Aymen received his Master’s degree in film with honors from the New York Film Academy, Los Angeles where he produced and directed many short films that have been played in different film festivals around the world. Aymen received his Bachelor’s in Business and Management from King Abdul-Aziz University, Saudi Arabia. This background helped him to be at the top of his organizing game, networking, and career growth.

Born and raised in the east of Saudi Arabia until the age of 11, Khoja then traveled back with his parents to the west, Makkah where he stayed until he was 23 when he traveled to the US to pursue his dream of making films. Aymen had the passion and drive to make movies in a time there were no theaters in his home country. Being a pioneer, he had to push and fight traditions to achieve what he believes is his mission in life: to bridge and close gaps between cultures through the form of cinema by telling the right stories.

Nine Mena Films to see in the Festival:

Cannes Ff Competition Leila’s Brothers directed by Saeed Roustayi from IranCannes Ff Competition Holy Spider directed by Iranian Ali Abbasi but funded by France, Germany, Sweden, DenmarkUn Certain Regard Harka directed by Lotfy Nathan from TunisiaUn Certain Regard The Blue Caftan directed by Maryam Touzani from MoroccoUn Certain Regard Mediterranean Fever directed by Maha Haj from PalestineUn Certain Regard Domingo And The Mist directed by Ariel Escalante from Costa Rica with support from QatarDirectors’ Fortnight Under the Fig Trees directed by Eriga Sehiri from TunisiaDirectors’ Fortnight Ashkal directed by Youssef Chebbi from TunisiaCritics’ Week in Competition Imagine directed by Ali Behrad from IranL’Atelier project: Hamlet From The Slums from Egypt, directed by Ahmed Fawzi SalehL’Atelier project: The Blind Ferryman from Iraq and Switzerland, directed by Ali Al-FatlawiL’Atelier project: You Are My Everything from Israel, directed by Michal VinikdL’Atelier project: The Doubt from Palestine and Israel, directed by Ihab Jadallah...

Mubi’s German-language, post-wwii drama Great Freedom grossed a solid $8,814 at NYC’s Film Forum this weekend, the latest in a string of foreign films to open well and with younger demos previously atypical of the genre.

Austria’s shortlisted Oscar submission for Best International Feature was also Mubi’s pick of the week for its Mubi Go program that’s been available to NYC streaming subscribers since October. It offers one free ticket a week to a prestige pic (from diverse distributors) and is set to roll out to LA and other U.S. markets this spring.

“We are firm believers that the more people that see films in theaters the better. We are about the theatrical experience and a healthier film culture. Generally, it doesn’t exist just on screen or just in theaters. It’s a rising tide. People are more apt to watch something in a...

A4 presents Kagonada’s second feature After Yang in limited release, the latest in the distributor’s varied indie slate ahead of wide-release horror slasher X on 3/18 and sci-fi adventure Everything Everywhere All At Once on 3/25 — which is also opening SXSW Film Festival.

This is a weekend where The Batman casts a long shadow, but the specialty market is also hungry for new content with moviegoers demonstrably, measurably, more willing to return to theaters in person.

A24 has been a strong voice in the pandemic-scarred cinema landscape. Green Knight, Zola and C’mon, C’mon helped juice the indie box office last year as odd Icelandic horror film Lamb and porno-themed Red Rocket became culty favorites. Other releases included The Humans, The Souvenir: Part II and Saint Maude. The distributor took three Oscar noms with Apple TV+ for The Tragedy of Macbeth. X as well as A24’s upcoming Bodies Bodies Bodies...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

After Yang (kogonada)

Following his serenely stunning drama Columbus, video-essayist-turned-director kogonada headed to the future with After Yang. The gorgeous, moving drama about what makes up a family premiered at last year’s Cannes (where our own Rory O’Connor was mixed) and after a few tweaks recently landed at Sundance, where it received quite a rapturous response. Starring Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja, Justin H. Min, Sarita Choudhury, Haley Lu Richardson, and Clifton Collins Jr., it follows Farrell as Jake, a father who attempts to repair the malfunction Yang, an android that was a companion to his young daughter. In his second feature, kogonada perfectly depicts quite a seemingly realistic near-future while still retaining the peaceful artistic sensibilities of his debut.

Hair salons are sacred spaces. Where else could one catch up on the latest neighborhood gossip and engage in mindless chit-chat, while getting treated to a wash, trim and blow-out? But in “Paradise Now“ director Hany Abu-Assad’s restrained yet gripping “Huda’s Salon,” a feminist political thriller whose philosophical observations are richer than its white-knuckle moments, the titular Bethlehem joint secretly operates as something other than a pampering safe haven. Reem (Maisa Abd Elhadi) doesn’t know this as she takes a seat at Huda’s (Manal Awad) modest place on an especially quiet day, before her innocent little excursion costs her a great deal of irreversible trouble.

It all starts cordially enough between the two Palestinian women, a pair of friends and allies who’ve put up with their own share of patriarchal nonsense, both inside their families and on a macro level, within the oppressed Palestine long occupied by Israeli forces.

“Do you think you’re living in Sweden?” asks the titular hairstylist of “Huda’s Salon” with a sigh, although her question is surely rhetorical: After all, both she and the captor who is conducting her inquisition actually reside amid the brain-bending complexity of Bethlehem.

For women like Huda, there is no one to rely on, no one to trust, no one to confide in. And when it comes to self-protective betrayal, she has learned her lessons well.

Writer-director Hany Abu-Assad envisions his characters as nesting dolls, each enclosed by someone bigger or more powerful. Huda is a victim of the Palestinian resistance, pitiless spies who are watched at every step by equally unforgiving Israeli soldiers. Her victim is Reem (Maisa Abd Elhadi), a young mother who simply wants a bit of a break.

Like all women in her punitively patriarchal family, Reem has only two approved roles — dutiful wife and...

Grounded in a profound sense of duty, Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad has served as the premiere cinematic spokesperson for his people’s plight living under Israeli occupation for over half a century. Presenting a nuanced, yet piercing window into collective impotence in the face of injustice, his films “Paradise Now” and “Omar” received Academy Award nominations, prompting international attention on his inevitably political art.

But in the aftermath of Oscar recognition, the filmmaker tried his hand at a more inspirational tale with “The Idol” and eventually made his English-language debut with “The Mountain Between Us,” starring Kate Winslet and Idris Elba. Now, Abu-Assad has not only returned home, but also to his more tense and taut dramatic sensibilities with “Huda’s Salon,” a layered, edge-of-your-seat thriller about the many perils women face in Palestine. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last September, and is being released by IFC Films this week.

With most films seeking to get out of the shadow cast by a certain caped crusader, March is a bit of a lighter month than usual, but there remains a handful of recommendations. From offbeat festival favorites to the return of the erotic thriller to what’s sure to be one of the best sci-fi tales of the year, check out our picks below.

11. Jane by Charlotte (Charlotte Gainsbourg; March 18 in theaters)

After being in front of the camera for nearly four decades, Charlotte Gainsbourg gets personal with her directorial debut. Jane by Charlotte, which premiered at Cannes before playing NYFF and beyond, is a portrait of her mother, singer and actress Jane Birkin, as the pair reflect on their creative lives. As they discuss the pains and joys of their relationship, it promises an intimate look at the intricacies of a bond formed not only by blood, but also fiercely creative drives.

Other EFM acquisitions including ‘Rimini’, ’Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom’, ’Peter Von Kant’ and ’La Syndicaliste’.

Pim Hermeling’s Amsterdam-based September Films, one of Benelux’s leading art house distributors, has been on a buying spree at the EFM.

The company has acquired Li Ruijun’s Berlin competition entry Return To Dust from Berlin-based m-appeal. This follows other EFM acquisitions including Ulrich Seidl’s Rimini from the Coproduction Office; Oscar international feature film nominee Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom (from Films Boutique); François Ozon’s Berlinale opening film Peter Von Kant (sold by Playtime) and La Syndicaliste (The...

Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad’s humanistic approach to political subjects has earned him worldwide acclaim. His films “Paradise Now” and “Omar” were both Oscar-nominated in the Best Foreign Language category (now known as Best International Feature Film), and the latter won the Special Jury Prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Both focused on ordinary people whose lives are manipulated and torn apart by the military tension of their surroundings.

Continue reading ‘Huda’s Salon’ Trailer: New Mother Plays Spy Games in Upcoming Political Thriller from Oscar Nominee Hany Abu-Assad at The Playlist.

"Why did you betray your people?" IFC Films has revealed a new trailer for an indie from Palestine titled Huda's Salon, which premiered at last year's Toronto Film Festival. It also played at other festivals last year including Philadelphia, Busan, Woodstock, Miami, and AFI Fest. Based on real events, Huda's Salon is a timely political drama about two women who find themselves in a dangerous and complex web of betrayal. While both of them navigate how far their loyalties will go—to family and country—Abu-Assad masterfully orchestrates the tensions into a crescendo. The film stars Ali Suliman, Maisa Abd Elhadi, Manal Awad, Kamel El Basha, Samer Bisharat, and Omar Abu Amer. This received some rave reviews from critics, saying the film is a "combination of moral quandary and ticking clock peril." It seem worth a watch. Here's the official US trailer for Hany Abu-Assad's Huda's Salon, direct from...

Exclusive: Just in time for Sundance, IFC Films has hired Scott Shooman to be Senior Vice President of Acquisitions, reporting directly to IFC Films president Arianna Bocco.

A seasoned hand in the acquisitions game who is leaving a senior exec post at Endeavor Content, Shooman has been an acquisitions exec at CBS Films, Sony Pictures’ Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group. Shooman will hit the ground running: he’s tasked with leading the acquisitions team to acquire approximately 30 films per year for both the IFC Films and IFC Midnight slate in all stages of production, from script stage to finished films. He will be the primary liaison between sister companies Rlje films and Shudder as well as parent company AMC Networks and will attend festivals on behalf of the company starting with Sundance. At that virtual fest, IFC Films presents the Venice Golden Lion Winning Audrey Diwan-directed drama Happening,...

Festival

NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (Nfmla) and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), with presenting partners The Arab Film and Media Institute and Dutch Culture USA are partnering for a short film festival that runs across the Dec. 10 and 11 weekend.

The annual event, titled Nfmla Film Festival InFocus: Middle Eastern, Arab & Dutch Cinema, will feature virtual screenings of films followed by live Q&As. The films are by emerging filmmakers from the Netherlands, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Iran, France, Belgium and the U.S.

The program includes the U.S. premiere of “Nervosa,” the latest work by Nfmla alum Thessa Meijer and the Tribeca award-winning short “Leylak,” by co-directors Scott Aharoni and Dennis Latos.

Festival panels will feature conversations with Palestinian director-writer Hany Abu-Assad (“Omar”), whose upcoming feature “Huda’s Salon” will be distributed by IFC Films, and Saudi Arabian filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour...

Hollywood and regional stars hit the red carpet event in Jeddah’s Al-Balad historic centre.

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival (Rsiff) opened in Jeddah on Monday evening (December 6) with an array of international stars on the red carpet, but it was local filmmaker Haifaa Al Mansour who stole the show when she received an honorary career award at the opening ceremony.

“When I was a child, watching a movie for me was a dream, and making the first Saudi film was a dream, and being honoured in the first film festival in Saudi Arabia was also a dream,...

The Bethlehem-set thriller makes Mena debut in competition at the Red Sea International Film Festival.

Palestinian director Hany Abu Assad’s thriller Huda’s Salon makes its Middle East and North Africa debut on Tuesday (December 7), opening the main competition of Saudi Arabia’s new Red Sea International Film Festival, running December 6 to 15 in Jeddah.

The feature made its world premiere in Toronto three months ago but for Golden Globe-winning and double Oscar nominee Abu Assad, its arrival in the Mena region marks the most important leg of its festival and theatrical journey.

“I made this movie for my home audience,...

International film festival launches in Jeddah exactly four years after lifting of Saudi’s 35-year cinema ban.

Saudi Arabia’s new Red Sea International Film Festival (Rsiff) opens in the country’s second-largest city of Jeddah on Monday evening (December 6), opening with Joe Wright’s musical Cyrano, starring Peter Dinklage in the title role.

Wright is expected to attend the opening ceremony, taking place in a specially constructed outdoor theatre in the port city’s 1,400-year-old historic quarter of Al-Balad, which will serve as the festival hub.

The UK director will be among around 1,000 international guests expected to attend the festival,...

The 25th edition of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival is about to kick off, and between 12-28 of November the audience will have the oportunity to watch a great number of films from Asia, strewn across festival’s various program sections, including all competition segments. We went through the complete program and counted no more or less than 69 films from the broader Asian region.

Quite surprising is the amount of competition titles in the main selection, with three world premieres, four international. Lu ZHang’s “Yanagawa” will have its European premiere at PÖFF.

Yerzhanov returns to Tallinn a year after he presented two films at the festival, the main competition title “Ulbolsyn” about a woman who comes to a Kazhak village to “steer trouble”, and the oddball comedy “Yellow Cat” screened in the Current Waves program. Kirill Sokolov is also back two years after the premiere of his critically acclaimed...

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,...

Kenneth Branagh’s black-and-white drama “Belfast” has won the People’s Choice Award at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF announced on Saturday.

The gentle drama, which is based on Branagh’s childhood growing up in Northern Ireland, won over Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson’s “Scarborough,” a story of three low-income children that finished second, and Jane Campion’s revisionist Western “The Power of the Dog,” which finished third.

In its review of the film from TIFF, TheWrap wrote, “Visually stunning, emotionally wrenching and gloriously human, ‘Belfast’ takes one short period from Branagh’s life and finds in it a coming-of-age story, a portrait of a city fracturing in an instant and a profoundly moving lament for what’s been lost during decades of strife in his homeland of Northern Ireland.”

Other films in competition for the award included “Dear Evan Hansen,” “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” and “The Guilty.

Long live the socially minded political thriller! Thanks to filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad, this long-underserved sub-genre––once perfected by directors like Hitchcock, Pakula, and Weir––feels briefly resurrected thanks to his new picture Huda’s Salon. Set in the West Bank and based on true events, the film concerns Palestinian housewife Reem (Maisa Abd Elhadi) and the circumstances that are set in motion after a fateful trip to a local salon run by a woman named Huda (Manal Awad).

The opening scene is a beautifully constructed short film all its own, revealing a snappy spy narrative involving Israeli occupiers and Palestinian resisters. On one side sits Huda, on the other sits her interrogator Hasan (a great Ali Suliman). When asked how it is she decides which women to recruit and blackmail into espionage, she replies, “I choose the girls whose husbands are assholes.”

All three leads are perfectly calibrated here. Each character...

There’s no escape for the women in Hany Abu-Assad’s blistering new film “Huda’s Salon,” a fearless statement on gender oppression shaped as an edge-of-your-seat thriller. Back in top form, the acclaimed director behind stunners such as “Paradise Now” and “Omar” returns to dissecting the perilous Palestinian experience under Israeli control.

Read More: Toronto Film Fest 2021 Preview: 16 Must-See Movies To Watch

Before his camera enters the eponymous beautification business where lives are upended, Abu-Assad eases us into the reality of his people via snippets of quotidian interactions in the occupied territories.

Continue reading ‘Huda’s Salon’: Hany Abu-Assad Offers a Fearless Reckoning on Women’s Oppression in Occupied Palestine [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

Hany Abu Assad — the two-time Oscar nominee behind Paradise Now and Omar — didn’t intend to make another Palestinian movie. But a query from his producer wife sparked an idea, an idea which would eventually become Huda’s Salon, making its world premiere in Toronto and the Nazareth-born director’s first feature since he took a break from the Middle East and ventured to Hollywood with 2016’s The Mountain Between Us (starring Kate Winslet and Idris Elba).

Set in Bethlehem in the West Bank, the thriller centers on a young woman who finds her life turned upside down after a simple trip to a ...

Hany Abu-Assad, the acclaimed Dutch-Palestinian director of Oscar-nominated “Paradise Now” and “Omar,” has broken new ground with “Huda’s Salon” which world premiered Sept. 9 at Toronto in the competitive Platform section.

The female-driven tense spy thriller is headlined by Maisa Abd Elhadi (“The Angel”) who stars as Reem, a young mother who falls into a trap during a visit at a hair salon run by Huda, a seemingly friendly woman working for the Israeli secret service. While being blackmailed by the Israeli secret service, Reem has to cope with her controlling husband and a Palestinian resistance agent who suspect she is a traitor.

“Huda’s Salon” marks the helmer’s follow up to Fox’s “The Mountains Between Us” with Kate Winslet and Idris Elba. Abu-Assad produced the film with his wife, Amira Diab, through their recently launched banner H&a Production, alongside Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy, who runs the Cairo Film Festival,...

It starts, as so many horrible things do, without even a glimmer of the terror to come. Young wife and mother Reem (Masa Abd Elhadi) has stopped by her friend Huda’s (Manal Awad) salon to get her hair styled, maybe even cut. The two chat easily about all manner of things, from the trouble of Facebook to the latest drama with a frenemy from the neighborhood. Reem’s charming baby Lina fusses nearby, she mentions problems with her untrusting husband, and Huda fixes her a cup of coffee to enjoy while getting a trim. Everything feels just fine, comforting even, but that’s before Huda slips something into Reem’s coffee cup, who only notices a bitter taste long after she’s started sinking into unconsciousness.

No, not everything is as it seems at Huda’s salon, and while that makes for a fascinating start to Hany Abu-Assad’s latest Bethlehem-set drama,...

Self or nation? Loyalty or betrayal? Stay or leave?

These are the questions pulsing through Huda’s Salon, the eighth film from Hany Abu-Assad. They are not unfamiliar themes for the Palestinian director; his previous films, including the Oscar-nominated Paradise Now and Omar, explored similar questions with precision and sensitivity. But Huda’s Salon, a tightly conceived political thriller based on real events, heightens the stakes of these queries by applying them to Palestinian women, whose oppression under Israeli occupation is compounded by the patriarchal forces within their homes and communities.

Huda’s Salon opens with a humorous and congenial scene of bonding. Huda (Manal Awad), a stylist in Bethlehem,...

Self or nation? Loyalty or betrayal? Stay or leave?

These are the questions pulsing through Huda’s Salon, the eighth film from Hany Abu-Assad. They are not unfamiliar themes for the Palestinian director; his previous films, including the Oscar-nominated Paradise Now and Omar, explored similar questions with precision and sensitivity. But Huda’s Salon, a tightly conceived political thriller based on real events, heightens the stakes of these queries by applying them to Palestinian women, whose oppression under Israeli occupation is compounded by the patriarchal forces within their homes and communities.

Huda’s Salon opens with a humorous and congenial scene of bonding. Huda (Manal Awad), a stylist in Bethlehem,...

Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy’s production shingle Film Clinic –– at Venice with “Amira,” Mohamed Diab’s drama about Palestinian children conceived behind bars with smuggled sperm –– is getting a financial boost that will triple its resources just as two new film and TV projects go into production.

Film Clinic is having an outstanding festival presence this year. They recently took the top Cannes Critics’ Week nod with Omar El Zohairy’s “Feathers,” and are now in the Venice Horizons section with “Amira” (pictured); it will soon be in Toronto with Hany Abu-Assad’s “Huda’s Salon.”

Now the company will have the financial muscle to take things to the next level thanks a new partner, government-affiliated outfit Ergo, which is taking a 49% stake in Film Clinic, while Hefzy and other partners will retain control of the remaining 51%.

Hefzy underlined that while the seed money comes from a government bank, the company is private,...

The Woodstock Film Festival has announced the slate for its 22nd edition, with 11 world premieres among the 43 features on the bill.

The festival will take place September 29 to October 3 in three Hudson Valley communities about two hours north of New York City. In-person screenings and events will be featured throughout the fest’s five days, but online options will also enable attendees to connect amid the ongoing challenges of Covid-19.

Panels, concerts and comedy sets along with film screenings are planned in Woodstock, Kingston and Saugerties. Neon chief Tom Quinn is slated to receive the festival’s Honorary Trailblazer Award, an honor announced in 2020 but postponed due to the pandemic.

The festival will kick off with Fanny: The Right to Rock, a documentary about a pathbreaking Filipina-American garage band, with a performance by some of the band’s members following the screening. Music is an annual touchstone for Woodstock’s lineup,...