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by Hadri Shah

The first thing I did after watching “3000 Nights” was to Google the name of the film's lead actress. Her name? Maisa Abd El Hadi. She's my contemporary, hailing from Palestine, born in Nazareth. Besides “3000 Nights,” Maisa has graced other films like “The Angel” and “The Reports Between Sarah & Saleem.” As for other details—whether she's Muslim, why she doesn't wear a hijab, her marital status, or political views—I suggest you find out for yourself.

Maisa El Hadi, with her wavy black hair, takes centre stage in the film that premiered on September 12, 2015—the same date as my birthday. She portrays Layal, a schoolteacher who is found guilty of hiding a Palestinian teenage boy accused of a fatal attack at an Israeli military checkpoint. Despite her husband's plea to testify falsely in court, Layal denies that the teenager ever threatened her.

The judge's verdict? Layal...

In Bassel Ghandour’s debut feature set in Amman, the stories of interweaving lives are told through some great performances, but lead nowhere significant

In a residential part of Amman, Jordan, where the whitened buildings are built so close to each other the streets are little more than the alleys of the title, a number of interrelated stories unfold revealing a complex skein of lives woven together. Writer-director Bassel Ghandour’s feature debut represents the kind of criss-crossing ensemble piece that does well on the festival circuit, all the more so here as Jordanian cinema hasn’t yet established the same kind of exportable appeal as other Middle Eastern countries.

However, with a bit more scrutiny it doesn’t hold up quite so well, even if some of the performances, particularly from Maisa Abd Elhadi and Nadira Omran sinking their teeth into properly meaty characters, are terrific. At first, 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...

The initial punch of Huda's Salon is likely to get you right in the gut - to such a degree, in fact, that I'm hesitant to even mention it, but what happens in the salon near the start of the film is crucial to all that follows, so I'm afraid slight spoilers are unavoidable. You have been warned. If you were just to watch the film's first 10 minutes, you would be likely expecting a domestic, female-focused tale of the ins and outs of marriages and small tribulations of Palestinian life in Bethlehem, as Reem (Maisa Abd Elhadi), her baby sleeping at the back of the salon, settles in for a haircut and a gossip with salon owner Huda (Manal Awad).

It turns out, however, that it's not flavouring that Huda is popping into Reem's coffee but knock-out drops, quickly dragging her client into the back room and staging blackmail photos in.

A trip to the hairdresser’s turns sour in Huda’s Salon, a gripping thriller written and directed by Hany Abu-Assad (Paradise Now). Inspired by chilling real events in Palestine, it sees young mother Reem (Maisa Abd Elhadi) drugged by Huda (Manal Awad), who strips her naked and takes compromising pictures of her with a man, who’s clearly done this before.

Huda is working with the secret service, and intends to blackmail Reem into joining her. Huda is confident that Reem’s husband won’t defend his wife’s honor, and she might well be right. While Reem goes about her daily life in a traumatized daze, trying to figure out what to do, Huda is captured by the resistance and interrogated underground.

It’s a tense, grim scenario in which you know nobody will escape unharmed. But dark humor occasionally lightens the load, and is in particularly safe hands with Awad,...

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.

AMC Networks’ streaming service Sundance Now has acquired North American rights to “The Dreamers,” a series directed by Maysaloun Hamoud (“In Between”), a rising Hungarian-born Palestinian filmmaker.

The thought-provoking crime comedy series screened at Series Mania Forum 2019 and went on to play at several festivals, including Zurich.

“The Dreamers” was produced by Shlomi Elkabetz and Galit Cahlon (“In Between”) at the banner Deux Beaux Garcons, and was commissioned by the powerful Israeli cabler Hot, whose hit shows include “In Treatment,” “Euphoria” (2012) and “Losing Alice.”

Set against the backdrop of rising tensions in the Gaza Strip, “The Dreamers” tells the story of three young Palestinian students who travel to Tel Aviv in 2008 and try to establish a new and liberated Palestinian community for themselves. When the three friends, Warda (Maisa Abd Elhadi), Kayes (Riyad Sliman) and Salah (Aiman Daw), try to buy drugs and get high at the end of a long day,...

"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...

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,...

Gaza Mon Amour Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Tarzan Nasser, Arab Nasser Screenwriter: Tarzan Nasser, Arab Nasser Cast: Hiam Abbass, Salim Dau, Maisa Abd Elhadi, George Iskander Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 10/29/21 Opens: November 5, 2021 Gaza may have never been associated with love before, a […]

The post Gaza Mon Amour Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Gaza Mon Amour Samuel Goldwyn Films Reviewed for Shockya.com by Abe Friedtanzer Director: Tarzan Nasser and Arab Nasser Writer: Tarzan Nasser and Arab Nasser Cast: Salim Dau, Hiam Abbass, Maisa Abd Elhadi, George Iskandar Screened at: Critics’ link, Il, 11/10/21 Opens: November 5th, 2021 It’s often said that it’s never too late to fall in […]

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"The guy clearly likes you." Goldwyn Films has revealed the official US trailer for an indie dramedy from Palestine titled Gaza Mon Amour, the second feature by filmmakers Tarzan & Arab Nasser. It premiered at the 2020 Venice Film Festival last year, and it was submitted as Palestine's Best International Film entry for the 93rd Academy Awards (that were already held this year). Sixty-year-old fisherman Issa is secretly in love with Siham, a woman who works at the market with her daughter Leila. When he discovers an ancient phallic statue of Apollo in his fishing nets, Issa hides it, not knowing what to do with this potent treasure. Yet deep inside, he feels that this discovery will change his life forever. Strangely, his confidence starts to grow and eventually he decides to approach her. The film stars Hiam Abbass (from "Succession"), Salim Dau, Maisa Abd Elhadi, & George Iskandar. It looks so sweet...

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...

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,...

This year’s fall festival season features a tapestry of in-person, virtual, and hybrid programming from Telluride, Venice, TIFF, and NYFF. One throughline: many of the most anticipated premieres — from “Dune” to “The Power of the Dog” — are arriving to festivals with distribution in hand.

Though the festivals have pared down the size of their lineups amid the pandemic, there’s still plenty for buyers to choose from, from discovery titles to those with bankable elements. Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn’s “Official Competition” features Antonio Banderas and Penélope Cruz in a rare appearance on screen together; it still has North American rights available ahead of its Venice premiere. In “Lakewood,” Phillip Noyce directs Naomi Watts as a mother racing to her child during an active-shooter incident, it premieres at TIFF. And “Beba,” a personal documentary from first-time feature director Rebeca Huntt, is catching early buzz as a potential TIFF breakout.

Both the title and opening voiceover of the Jordanian feature “The Alleys” make us think we’re in Naguib Mahfouz territory, evoking the backstreets of a neighborhood where “average” people lead intersected lives and everyone knows everyone else’s business — a place where, as the narrator tells it, “a story spreads like wildfire.” It’s a great model to follow, but debuting director Bassel Ghandour, who wrote and produced the superb “Theeb,” is ultimately more invested in making a dark thriller, one without the subtlety of Mahfouz or his attention to character.

Set in an eastern district of Amman, the film follows a lowlife whose desire to run away with his respectable girlfriend leads him and others to make very foolish alliances. , but will have difficulty connecting to more mainstream boulevards.

Ali (Emad Azmi) and Lana (Baraka Rahmani) are in love, but they have to disguise it from her mother...

Filmmaker’s Paradise Now was first Palestinian film nominated for foreign language Oscar in 2006.

IFC Films has picked up North American rights from Memento International to Hany Abu-Assad’s upcoming Toronto world premiere Huda’s Salon.

The filmmaker’s latest feature follows Reem, a young mother married to a jealous man, who goes to Huda’s salon in Bethlehem for a haircut and an attentive ear.

What should be an ordinary visit turns sour when Huda puts Reem in a difficult spot and blackmails her into betraying her people and working for the secret service of the occupiers. Ali Suliman,...

IFC Films has acquired North American rights to “Huda’s Salon,” a drama written and directed by Hany Abu-Assad, the award-winning filmmaker behind “Paradise Now” and “The Mountain Between Us.”

The film is described as a “feminist thriller,” one that unfolds against the backdrop of geopolitical conflict. It follows Reem, a young mother married to a jealous man, who goes to Huda’s salon in Bethlehem for a haircut and an attentive ear. But this visit turns sour when Huda, after having put Reem in a shameful situation, blackmails her.

“Huda’s Salon” will have its world premiere as an official selection at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival in September. IFC Films is planning a release in 2022. The indie studio has two other films playing in Toronto, Mia Hansen-Løve’s “Bergman Island” and Ruth Paxton’s “A Banquet.”

“To finally have the chance to work with IFC Films...

After 10 consecutive days of violence, the renewed Israeli-Palestinian conflict is already considered the worst clash since 2014. For a film community known to be fiercely opposed to the politics led by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers and producers fear the escalation of violence will cause irreparable damage. There have been countless fallouts between Israelis and Palestinians in the region over the last 70 years, but industry executives indicate that the proliferation of social media is taking commentary on the conflict to unprecedented levels.

“Today, because of social media, hatred is spreading much quicker. This is a nightmare, and it will affect relationships in the medium to long term,” predicts Rani Massalha, the Paris-based French-Palestinian producer of Tarzan and Arab Nasser’s “Gaza Mon Amour” which opened at Venice and represented Palestine in the Oscar race this year.

“When I started my career as a director with ‘Girafada,...

Maisa Abd Elhadi, the Palestinian actress whose credits include the Channel 4 series Baghdad Central and Netflix original The Angel, reportedly is recovering after being shot by Israeli police during a protest in Haifa.

The region is experiencing its worst violence since the 2014 Gaza war. This week, at least 35 Palestinians including 12 children were killed, according to Palestinian officials, and several Israelis have also died, while hundreds more protestors have been injured by police, who have faced accusations of brutality.

Tensions have been rising in the country ahead of a looming court order that would expel dozens of Palestinian families from their homes in a majority Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem.

A photo purportedly of Abd Elhadi being treated in the back of an ambulance circled widely on social media this week. She has since posted on her Instagram account about the incident, highlighting a post that said Israeli soldiers had...

Palestinian actress Maisa Abd Elhadi — who starred in Hulu’s Baghdad Central and last year’s Venice-bowing feature Gaza Mon Amour — has been injured after allegedly being shot by Israel police during a demonstration on Sunday in the city of Haifa.

Elhadi had been part of a protest against an upcoming Israeli court ruling that, if passed, would allow authorities to forcefully expel several Palestinian families from their homes in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, one of numerous demonstrations that have erupted around Israel and the West Bank in recent days.

Following widely-shared pictures of Elhadi in the back of ...

Palestinian actress Maisa Abd Elhadi — who starred in Hulu’s Baghdad Central and last year’s Venice-bowing feature Gaza Mon Amour — has been injured after allegedly being shot by Israel police during a demonstration on Sunday in the city of Haifa.

Elhadi had been part of a protest against an upcoming Israeli court ruling that, if passed, would allow authorities to forcefully expel several Palestinian families from their homes in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, one of numerous demonstrations that have erupted around Israel and the West Bank in recent days.

Following widely-shared pictures of Elhadi in the back of ...

Actress’s recent credits include Gaza Mon Amour, Tel Aviv On Fire and The Reports On Sarah and Saleem.

Palestinian actress Maisa Abd Elhadi was injured on Sunday while participating in a protest in the Israeli city of Haifa against Israeli police brutality and the planned expulsion of Palestinian families from their long-time homes in East Jerusalem.

A source close to the actress said she had been filming the demonstration on Haifa’s central Ben Gurion Avenue when Israeli police moved in to clear the hundreds of protestors. She was hurt when a police stun grenade exploded on the back of her right leg.

Palestine's nomination for the International feature Oscar last year is an amiable, if underpowered, shaggy dog story of late-life love which, appropriately, sees Salim Dau bring a puppy-like aspect to sixtysomething fisherman Issa.

There's a likeable mixture of shyness and hopefulness about the way that he goes about his life - something we basically drop in on and watch go by in the opening part of the film. He navigates the checkpoints in Gaza and goes fishing in a "sea that is three miles long" - although day-to-day politics are mainly confined to a supporting role - and tries on aftershave while nattering to his younger friend who is dreaming of a life in Europe, all while trying to work up the nerve to court seamstress Siham (Hiam Abass).

She lives with her daughter Leila (Maisa Abd Elhadi) over the women's tailoring shop where she plies her trade, where the women spar.

Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to Tarzan and Arab Nasser’s Gaza Mon Amour, Palestine’s official submission for Best International Feature at the 93rd Academy Awards. The film will be released later this year.

Written and directed Tarzan and Arab Nasser, the film stars Salim Daw (Tel Aviv on Fire), Hiam Abbass, Maisa Abd Elhadi (Baghdad Central). “This film is a love message from and to Gaza, and we are thrilled to share it with the American audiences,” said the twin brother filmmakers in a joint statement.

Set in present-day Gaza, the story follows 60-year-old fisherman Issa who is secretly in love with Siham, a woman who works at the market with her daughter Leila. When he discovers an ancient phallic statue of Apollo in his fishing nets, Issa hides it, not knowing what to do with this mysterious and potent treasure. Yet deep inside,...

Huda’s Salon

Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad heads into his eighth feature with Huda’s Salon, a based-on-a-true-story nightmare which was forced to halt production twice due to the pandemic. Scripted by Abu-Assad, he’s joined in the producer’s seat by Amira and Maher Diab, Shahinaz el Akkad, and Alaa Karkouti. Lensed by Ehab Assal (who shot Abu-Assad’s Omar and The Idol), Manal Awad stars as Huda, joined by the stellar Ali Suliman, Maisa Abd Elhadi, and Samer Bisharat. Abu-Assad’a major breakout was 2005’s Paradise Now, which competed in Berlin and won several prizes. 2013’s Omar played in Un Certain Regard at Cannes where it picked up a Special Jury Prize and his 2002 debut Rana’s Wedding was in Critics’ Week.…...

The title “Gaza Mon Amour” carries threatening echoes of those cutesy auteur short anthologies in which assorted drifting souls find love in the same scenic city streets. Happily, Palestinian twin filmmakers Arab and Tarzan Nasser’s entirely self-contained feature is nothing so slick or glib, though it boasts internationally flavored romantic whimsy in spades. Mixing a minor-key midlife love story with gently politicized farce against the turbulent backdrop of the Gaza Strip, the Nassers’ amiably shaggy film does, in fact, feel a little like a gossamer-weight short that has been stretched to breaking point at a hair under 90 minutes — only just sustained by its vivid sense of place and the unforced charisma of stars Salim Daw and Hiam Abbass.

Such charms have made “Gaza Mon Amour” well-liked on the festival circuit: It secured spots at Venice and Toronto in the fall, before being named Palestine’s submission for the international feature Oscar.

Production has finally completed on “Huda’s Salon,” the new film from double Academy-Award nominated director Hany Abu-Assad. Production was halted twice this year because of regulations brought in to stop the spread of coronavirus. Variety spoke to the Palestinian director from his home in Nazareth after he gave a masterclass via Zoom at the Cairo Film Festival.

Written and directed by Abu-Assad, “Huda’s Salon” is based on real-life events telling the story of a woman whose visit to a hair salon turns into a nightmare when its owner blackmails her. Starring Manal Awad, Maisa Abd Elhadi and Ali Suliman, filming took place on location in Nazareth and Bethlehem.

H&a Production, the company run by Abu-Assad and his wife Amira Diab, are lead producing, alongside Egyptian producer and Cairo Film Festival head honcho Mohamed Hefzy at Film Clinic. Philistine Films came on board during the lockdown. Sales are...

Palestinian director discusses dealing with lockdown and resuming shooting post-Covid-19.

Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad is gearing up to return to the set of his upcoming feature Huda’s Salon on July 15, after shooting was suspended on March 20 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The “feminist spy thriller” set in the West Bank city of Bethlehem was three weeks into a six week-shoot when it shut down on March 20. Production will be able to start up again as soon the borders of Israel and the Palestinian West Bank reopen to non-citizens, enabling five key international crew members to fly in.

The reopening...

Omar and The Mountain Between Us director Hany Aby-Assad is lining up Arabic-language thriller Huda’s Salon, which Paris-based Memento Films International is launching at the Efm in Berlin.

The feature, which is due to shoot in Palestine this year, will follow a woman whose visit to a hair salon turns into a nightmare when she is blackmailed by its owner. Abu-Assad has scripted and will direct. He will also produce with Film Clinic. Manal Awad (Degradé), Ali Suliman (Jack Ryan) and Maisa Abd Elhadi (Baghdad Central) are among attached cast.

Dutch-Palestinian-Israeli filmmaker Abu-Assad has received two Oscar nominations: in 2006 for Paradise Now, and in 2013 for Omar. Latest film from The Mountain Between Us (2017) starred Kate Winslet and Idris Elba.

Memento’s Efm slate also includes Asghar Farhadi drama A Hero, Australian production The Drover’s Wife and Catherine Frot drama Under The Stars Of Paris. The firm also has festival opener My Salinger Year.

It is the Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated director’s first feature shot in Palestine since his 2015 Gaza-set drama The Idol.

Memento Films International (Mfi) has boarded sales on Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad’s new film Huda’s Salon, which is billed as a “feminist spy thriller” set in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

It is the Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated director’s first feature shot in Palestine since his 2015 drama The Idol about a talented young singer who makes his way out of the Gaza Strip to compete in Arab Idol.

Based on real events, the new film co-stars...

Born in East Jerusalem, Larissa Sansour is a renowned artist who lives and works in London and New York. Her dystopian tale “In Vitro”, that is running in the section “States of being: Experimental Reflections on Place and Memory” of Lpff, was commissioned by the Danish Arts Foundation for the 58th Venice Biennale, and is co-directed and written with Danish writer Søren Lind.

“In Vitro” is screening at the London Palestine Film Festival 2019

In the aftermath of a massive eco-disaster, two scientists meet under the city of Bethlehem in an underground nuclear reactor turned bunker, turned orchard, where a new beginning for the human species is planned. In the orchard, sprouts from collected heirloom seeds are nursed to be planted and replenish the fields, bees will be bred for pollination and new genetically engineered humans will revive the planet.

The two scientists are two women of different age and their...

Hulu has boarded British drama Baghdad Central. The Svod service will air in the U.S. in 2020 after striking a deal with Fremantle for the Channel 4 series.

Produced by Hard Sun producer Euston Films, the series is based on the novel by Elliott Colla and is written by The Last Kingdom scribe Stephen Butchard.

It is the latest international series picked up by Hulu after deals for Das Boot, This Way Up and Prisoners of War.

Starring Waleed Zuaiter, Corey Stoll, Bertie Carvel, Clara Khoury, Leem Lubany, July Namir, and Neil Maskell, the series is set in October 2003 in Baghdad after Saddam Hussein has fallen and the city lies at the center of the coalition’s efforts to secure the region.

In the midst of this chaos, crime and paranoia, Iraqi ex-policeman Muhsin al-Khafaji, played by Zuaiter, has lost everything and is battling daily to keep himself and his sick daughter,...

Born in East Jerusalem, Larissa Sansour is a renowned artist who lives and works in London and New York. Her dystopian tale “In Vitro”, that is running in the Short Movie Competition of the BFI London Film Festival, was commissioned by the Danish Arts Foundation for the 58th Venice Biennale, and is co-directed and written with Danish writer Søren Lind.

“In Vitro” is screening at the BFI London Film Festival 2019

In the aftermath of a massive eco-disaster, two scientists meet under the city of Bethlehem in the underground nuclear reactor turned bunker, turned orchard, where a new beginning for the human species is planned. In the orchard, sprouts from collected heirloom seeds are nursed to be planted and replenish the fields, bees will be bred for pollination and new genetically engineered humans will revive the planet.

The two scientists are two women of different age and their discussion is a...

Tel Aviv On Fire Samsa Films Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Sameh Zoabi Screenwriter: Sameh Zoabi, Dan Kleinman Cast: Kais Nashef, Lubna Azabal, Maisa Abd Elhadi, Yaniv Biton Screened at: Cohen Media Group, NYC, 7/11/19 Opens: August 2, 2019 in New York and Los Angeles Think of […]

The post Tel Aviv On Fire Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

“The Dreamers,” one of the series to be presented at Series Mania’s Co-Pro Pitching Sessions, is a 10-part crime comedy produced by prominent Israeli filmmaker Shlomi Elkabetz (“Gett”) and Galit Cachlon at Deux Beaux Garcons Films.

Produced for Israeli cable TV operator Hot, the series will be directed by Maysaloun Hamoud, a young Hungarian-born Palestinian filmmaker who made her feature debut with “In Between” (“Bar Bahar) which had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.

Expanding on the plot of “In Between.” ”The Dreamers” follows Warda, Kais and Salah, three Palestinian roommates who came to Tel Aviv to fulfill their parent’s dreams, only to quickly discover their own. Warda came to Tel Aviv to work at her father’s accounting firm but quickly abandoned and signed up for acting school. Kais came to study accounting and business management but got sidetracked after discovering Tel Aviv’s nightlife.

Updated With Cast… Altered Carbon’s Waleed Zuaiter, Homeland’s July Namir, Condor’s Leem Lubany, Doctor Foster’s Bertie Carvel and House of Cards’ Corey Stoll star in C4 drama Baghdad Central.

Exclusive: Doctor Who and Lore director Alice Troughton has been set as lead director of Channel 4’s crime thriller Baghdad Central as filming kicks off in Morocco.

Troughton is a rising star in British directing, having directed the Mary Webster episode of Amazon’s horror drama Lore and an episode of Netflix’s sci-fi epic Lost in Space. She’s also recently worked on Sky’s A Discovery of Witches and Tin Star, as well as episodes of The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Teen Wolf. She previously directed a number of episodes of Doctor Who and spin-offs Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

She is joined on Baghdad Central, which is produced by FremantleMedia’s Euston Films,...

"Why are you helping Israel?" Netflix has debuted an official trailer for a spy thriller titled The Angel, the latest feature from Israeli director Ariel Vromen. Not to be confused with Luis Ortega's film El Angel (also the same title), which premiered at Cannes this year, this tells a different story about an Egyptian spy who helped save Israel. The Angel stars Marwan Kenzari as Ashraf Marwan, Egyptian President Nasser's son-in-law and one of Israeli Intelligence's most precious assets. Also starring Toby Kebbell, Hannah Ware, Waleed Farouq Zuaiter, Maisa Abd Elhadi, Sasson Gabay, Miki Leon, Ori Pfeffer, and Slimane Daz. This looks solid, featuring slick filmmaking and thrilling espionage. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Ariel Vromen's The Angel, direct from Netflix's YouTube: Ariel Vromen's The Angel tells the true story of Ashraf Marwan (Marwan Kenzari), who was Egyptian President Nasser's son-in-law, and a special advisor and...

Durban — “The Reports on Sarah and Saleem,” directed by Muayad Alayan, scooped best picture at the 39th Durban Intl. Film Festival, which wrapped Saturday night with an award ceremony at the Suncoast Cine Center complex.

The film tells the story of the political ramifications of an extra-marital affair between a Palestinian man and an Israeli woman. Variety described it as a “taut psychosocial drama.”

In a pre-recorded message from Jerusalem, Alayan offered thanks to the audience in South Africa – a country, he said, “which we as Palestinians hold in a very special place in our hearts” – while dedicating the award to “all the filmmakers out there in this world who are fighting all forms of injustice with their films and their art.”

The award punctuated a Diff whose 2018 edition “had a very special focus on hearing and seeing the marginal voices, with a focus on celebrating diversity,” according to Lliane Loots,...

Im Global’s Anthem label is handling international sales excluding the Middle East at Afm on Image Nation Abu Dhabi’s Arabic action thriller and recent BFI London Film Festival selection.

Cinetic Media has come on board to represents North American rights.

The Worthy is set in a dystopian future where the majority of the world’s water supply is contaminated and a small group of survivors near a rare clean water source must defend their lives from infiltrators.

The ensemble cast of Arabic talent includes Samr Al Masri, Ali Suliman and Maisa Abd Elhadi.

Rami Yasin produced with Peter Safran and Steven Schneider.

Meanwhile director Ali F Mostafa has signed with UTA for Us representation.

Image Nation and Im Global are partnering on contemporary thriller The Circle starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson, due for release in the Us next April via EuropaCorp.

Image Nation recently added three Emirati productions to its slate including the feel-good...

Samaritan Subterfuge: Masri’s Aggrandized Portrait of Political Metaphor

Portraits of women-in-prison have a long winding history in the annals of grindhouse and various exploitation cinema, and it’s a subgenre seemingly geared to easily capture the public’s attention. From critically admired studio efforts-turned camp classics like Caged (1950) to sleazy 99 Women (1969) to pop culture approved “Orange is the New Black,” the possibilities seem endless and compelling. Palestinian director Mai Masri leaves behind the world of documentary filmmaking for her feature debut, 3000 Nights. If the title gives you any indication, it’s the length of a prison sentence, and is an equally succinct way to describe the rather matter-of-fact tone the film takes in this examination of ‘the wrong (wo)man’ scenario. Drab and too easily utilizing the harrowing social and political upheaval of Israel’s occupation as a metaphor, the film’s lifeless portrayal of one woman’s...