Top prizes were handed out by the CineGouna Platform (Cgp) at the El Gouna Film Festival this week to projects in various stages of inception or completion. Winning a $15,000 prize for a project in development, “Theft of Fire” is Palestinian filmmaker Amer Shomali’s hybrid documentary, retelling the true story of an art heist “that never happened” to steal back antiquities pilfered from Palestinian lands by former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan.
Produced by Rashid Abdelhamid, the film is in the early stages of development but has already secured Canadian co-production.
“She Was Not Alone” won the equivalent Cgp Award for a film in postproduction. Produced by Huda Al Kadhimi and Huma Gupta and directed by Iraq’s Hussein Al-Asadi, the documentary gives a character portrait of Fatima, a nomad who tends for her buffalos in the poisoned marshes of Iraq as her island and way of life are threatened...
Produced by Rashid Abdelhamid, the film is in the early stages of development but has already secured Canadian co-production.
“She Was Not Alone” won the equivalent Cgp Award for a film in postproduction. Produced by Huda Al Kadhimi and Huma Gupta and directed by Iraq’s Hussein Al-Asadi, the documentary gives a character portrait of Fatima, a nomad who tends for her buffalos in the poisoned marshes of Iraq as her island and way of life are threatened...
- 12/21/2023
- by John Bleasdale
- Variety Film + TV
Four previously backed films are screening at Venice this year.
The Berlinale’s World Cinema Fund (Wcf) is to provide a combined €344,000 in finance to seven international projects.
In its latest funding round, the Wcf has recommended production funding for six projects from Burkina Faso, Chile, Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal and Colombia. The fund has also recommened providing distribution funding for the August 25 German release of Sudanese film You Will Die At Twenty.
The Berlinale’s funding initiative was set up in 2004 to help diversify German cinema and support projects from areas of the world with less filmmaking infrastructure.
The Berlinale’s World Cinema Fund (Wcf) is to provide a combined €344,000 in finance to seven international projects.
In its latest funding round, the Wcf has recommended production funding for six projects from Burkina Faso, Chile, Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal and Colombia. The fund has also recommened providing distribution funding for the August 25 German release of Sudanese film You Will Die At Twenty.
The Berlinale’s funding initiative was set up in 2004 to help diversify German cinema and support projects from areas of the world with less filmmaking infrastructure.
- 8/16/2022
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
The Red Sea International Film Festival’s selection of 12 projects from new and exciting voices from Saudi Arabia and the wider Arab region selected for the Red Sea Lodge, a mentoring program in collaboration with the Torino Film Lab, is a key part of the Festival’s drive to support and promote talent.
At the first edition of the Festival in December, The Red Sea Lodge 2021 winners The Zarqa Girl by Zaid Abuhamdan and The Photographer of Madina by Dalyah Bakheet each received a grant of US 100,000.
The Red Sea Lodge schedule is made up of 5 intensive labs designed to take a diversity of talent at the early stages of their career through the essentials of filmmaking to bring authentic stories to the screen.
The 8 month-program, designed to nurture and support emerging talent, will also improve access to Arab content and drive the potential of Arab talent on the international stage. The final workshop will take place during the second edition of the Festival which is scheduled to run from 1–10 December in Jeddah.
Of the 12 projects selected, 6 are from Saudi Arabia while the other projects are from Egypt, Algeria, and Lebanon. 50 of them are directed, produced, and written by women. As the Saudi Film industry continues to flourish and strives to become the Middle East’s film production hub, cinemas are reporting exponential growth and international productions are heading to shoot in the Kingdom this is an undoubtedly an opportune time for filmmakers breaking into the industry.
The selection committee features leading industry experts, including Savina Neirotti; Executive Director, TorinoFilmLab, Violeta Bava; Head of Studies, TorinoFilmLab, Jumana Zahid; Red Sea Lodge Manager, Shivani Pandya Malhotra; Managing Director of the Red Sea International Festival, Antoine Khalife; Director of the Arab Program, Red Sea International Film Festival, and Kaleem Aftab; Director of International Programming, Red Sea International Film Festival.
Also supporting the committee is Faiza Amba; Saudi Arabian film writer-director; Mohammad Sayed; Egyptian film critic and scriptwriter and Ziad Seaibi; Lebanese actor and lecturer at the Notre Dame University.
Shivani Pandya Malhotra, Managing Director of the Red Sea International Festival, said: “Together with the Torino Film Lab we are thrilled to be unveiling the next 12 unique projects for The Red Sea Lodge. The feedback from past participants has been very encouraging and this year’s selection is an exciting slate of projects with bold cultural and social ambitions from a diverse selection of voices. The Red Sea Lodge is now building momentum and proving to be a vital support initiative which helps Arab talent to reach new heights in their film careers and ultimately amplify the impact of Saudi and Arab film around the world.”
The selected projects from Saudi Arabia are:
Seasons of Love & War — based on the novel ‘Divers of the Desert’ written by Amal Alfaran, Director/Screenplay Hana Alomair, Co-Writer/Producer Soha Samir.
A Last Argument Against Youth: Writer — Director Mohemmed Algbreen, producer Raghad Bajbaa.
The Crow Nest — Writer/Director Feras Almusharrei, Producer Razan Al Soghayer, Writer Taqwa Ali.
Al Qais — Writer/Director Lujain Hussain, Writer — Producer Abdulrahman Hakeem.
Tahweedah — Writer/Director Omar Al Omirat, Producer Asd Alkarimi.
Yajuj: Curse Of Iram — Director Fahmi Farahat, Producer Jomana Alquraish, Writer Murad Amayreh.
Projects from the wider Arab world:
The Settlement — Egypt — France; Writer/Director Mohamed Rashad, Producer Hala Lotfy.
A Quarter To Thursday In Algiers — Algeria — France; Writer/Director Sofia Djama, Producer Aurélie Turc.
Cain And Abel — Egypt — USA — France; Director Dina Amer, Producer Karim Amer, Writer Omar Mullick.
Dogmas — France — Algeria; Writer/Director Salah Issaad, Producer Taqiyeddine Issaad.
Bubblegum Brigades — Lebanon; Director Samah El Kadi, Producer Michelle Ayoub, Writer Rani Nasr.
Aisha Can’t Fly Away Anymore — Egypt; Writer/Director Morad Mostafa, Producer Sawsan Yusuf.
The second edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival will run in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from December 1–10, 2022.
At the first edition of the Festival in December, The Red Sea Lodge 2021 winners The Zarqa Girl by Zaid Abuhamdan and The Photographer of Madina by Dalyah Bakheet each received a grant of US 100,000.
The Red Sea Lodge schedule is made up of 5 intensive labs designed to take a diversity of talent at the early stages of their career through the essentials of filmmaking to bring authentic stories to the screen.
The 8 month-program, designed to nurture and support emerging talent, will also improve access to Arab content and drive the potential of Arab talent on the international stage. The final workshop will take place during the second edition of the Festival which is scheduled to run from 1–10 December in Jeddah.
Of the 12 projects selected, 6 are from Saudi Arabia while the other projects are from Egypt, Algeria, and Lebanon. 50 of them are directed, produced, and written by women. As the Saudi Film industry continues to flourish and strives to become the Middle East’s film production hub, cinemas are reporting exponential growth and international productions are heading to shoot in the Kingdom this is an undoubtedly an opportune time for filmmakers breaking into the industry.
The selection committee features leading industry experts, including Savina Neirotti; Executive Director, TorinoFilmLab, Violeta Bava; Head of Studies, TorinoFilmLab, Jumana Zahid; Red Sea Lodge Manager, Shivani Pandya Malhotra; Managing Director of the Red Sea International Festival, Antoine Khalife; Director of the Arab Program, Red Sea International Film Festival, and Kaleem Aftab; Director of International Programming, Red Sea International Film Festival.
Also supporting the committee is Faiza Amba; Saudi Arabian film writer-director; Mohammad Sayed; Egyptian film critic and scriptwriter and Ziad Seaibi; Lebanese actor and lecturer at the Notre Dame University.
Shivani Pandya Malhotra, Managing Director of the Red Sea International Festival, said: “Together with the Torino Film Lab we are thrilled to be unveiling the next 12 unique projects for The Red Sea Lodge. The feedback from past participants has been very encouraging and this year’s selection is an exciting slate of projects with bold cultural and social ambitions from a diverse selection of voices. The Red Sea Lodge is now building momentum and proving to be a vital support initiative which helps Arab talent to reach new heights in their film careers and ultimately amplify the impact of Saudi and Arab film around the world.”
The selected projects from Saudi Arabia are:
Seasons of Love & War — based on the novel ‘Divers of the Desert’ written by Amal Alfaran, Director/Screenplay Hana Alomair, Co-Writer/Producer Soha Samir.
A Last Argument Against Youth: Writer — Director Mohemmed Algbreen, producer Raghad Bajbaa.
The Crow Nest — Writer/Director Feras Almusharrei, Producer Razan Al Soghayer, Writer Taqwa Ali.
Al Qais — Writer/Director Lujain Hussain, Writer — Producer Abdulrahman Hakeem.
Tahweedah — Writer/Director Omar Al Omirat, Producer Asd Alkarimi.
Yajuj: Curse Of Iram — Director Fahmi Farahat, Producer Jomana Alquraish, Writer Murad Amayreh.
Projects from the wider Arab world:
The Settlement — Egypt — France; Writer/Director Mohamed Rashad, Producer Hala Lotfy.
A Quarter To Thursday In Algiers — Algeria — France; Writer/Director Sofia Djama, Producer Aurélie Turc.
Cain And Abel — Egypt — USA — France; Director Dina Amer, Producer Karim Amer, Writer Omar Mullick.
Dogmas — France — Algeria; Writer/Director Salah Issaad, Producer Taqiyeddine Issaad.
Bubblegum Brigades — Lebanon; Director Samah El Kadi, Producer Michelle Ayoub, Writer Rani Nasr.
Aisha Can’t Fly Away Anymore — Egypt; Writer/Director Morad Mostafa, Producer Sawsan Yusuf.
The second edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival will run in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from December 1–10, 2022.
- 5/8/2022
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
12 upcoming films from the Middle East and North Africa will be supported by project and talent incubator.
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival (Rsiff) has unveiled the 12 projects selected for this year’s edition of its Red Sea Lodge project and talent development programme.
Of the 12 projects selected, six are from Saudi Arabia while the other projects are from Egypt, Algeria, and Lebanon, with 50% of the participants directed, produced, and written by women
The selection includes Saudi director and writer Hana Alomair’s feature directorial debut Seasons Of Love And War. The love triangle tale set in an...
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival (Rsiff) has unveiled the 12 projects selected for this year’s edition of its Red Sea Lodge project and talent development programme.
Of the 12 projects selected, six are from Saudi Arabia while the other projects are from Egypt, Algeria, and Lebanon, with 50% of the participants directed, produced, and written by women
The selection includes Saudi director and writer Hana Alomair’s feature directorial debut Seasons Of Love And War. The love triangle tale set in an...
- 3/15/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Nesrine El-Zayat, whose debut feature “On the Fence” is world premiering at the Cairo Film Festival this week, is typical of the new generation of young Egyptian filmmakers.
Lacking access to funds, equipment and formal training but bursting with stories and ideas, El-Zayat borrowed a friend’s camera shortly after the death of her father in 2006 and started shooting.
“I didn’t study cinema but watched many films with my father from the age of six and read a lot. I thought: ‘Let’s just try. I will shoot what I feel.’ For me, cinema is feeling,” she told Variety.
In her 72-minute documentary “On the Fence” – running in the Horizons of Arab Cinema competition – El-Zayat turns the camera on her own family to explore Egyptian society’s expectations of women.
According to El-Zayat, her father treated her as equal to her brothers when they were growing up in 1980s Tema,...
Lacking access to funds, equipment and formal training but bursting with stories and ideas, El-Zayat borrowed a friend’s camera shortly after the death of her father in 2006 and started shooting.
“I didn’t study cinema but watched many films with my father from the age of six and read a lot. I thought: ‘Let’s just try. I will shoot what I feel.’ For me, cinema is feeling,” she told Variety.
In her 72-minute documentary “On the Fence” – running in the Horizons of Arab Cinema competition – El-Zayat turns the camera on her own family to explore Egyptian society’s expectations of women.
According to El-Zayat, her father treated her as equal to her brothers when they were growing up in 1980s Tema,...
- 12/6/2020
- by Ann-Marie Corvin
- Variety Film + TV
Nelson Makengo’s “Rising Up at Night” from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Omar El Zohairy’s “Feathers of a Father” from Egypt won the prizes for films in post-production in Marrakech Film Festival’s Atlas Workshops, which is for projects from Africa and the Arab world.
Documentary feature “Rising Up at Night,” produced by Rosa Spaliviero and Dada Kahindo, follows a community in Kinshasa as it attempts to restore its electricity supply. It is set against the backdrop of a society “where violence, extreme poverty and corruption are king,” according to the director, whose “Up at Night” won the short documentary award at IDFA last year. “Rising Up at Night” won the Prix Brouillon d’un Rêve, and was selected by IDFAcademy, Berlinale Talents and Durban Film Mart.
“Feathers of a Father,” produced by Juliette Lepoutre and Pierre Menahem, charts the liberation of an Egyptian family after...
Documentary feature “Rising Up at Night,” produced by Rosa Spaliviero and Dada Kahindo, follows a community in Kinshasa as it attempts to restore its electricity supply. It is set against the backdrop of a society “where violence, extreme poverty and corruption are king,” according to the director, whose “Up at Night” won the short documentary award at IDFA last year. “Rising Up at Night” won the Prix Brouillon d’un Rêve, and was selected by IDFAcademy, Berlinale Talents and Durban Film Mart.
“Feathers of a Father,” produced by Juliette Lepoutre and Pierre Menahem, charts the liberation of an Egyptian family after...
- 12/5/2020
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
The 70th Berlin International Film Festival has unveiled its juries.
Joining president Jeremy Irons on the international jury is actress Bérénice Bejo (Argentina / France), producer Bettina Brokemper (Germany), director Annemarie Jacir (Palestine), plawright and director Kenneth Lonergan (USA), actor Luca Marinelli (Italy) and film critic and director Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil).
They will award prizes including the Golden and the Silver Bears to the 18 films in this year’s Competition line up.
Berlin dropped one of its awards, the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer prize, which goes to a film that “opens new perspectives on cinematic art”, after Nazi collaborator accusations emerged against its namesake in German press this week. No word yet on whether the prize will be reintroduced with a new moniker.
The festival’s new competitive section Encounters will see Dominga Sotomayor (Chile), Eva Trobisch (Germany) and Shôzô Ichiyama (Japan) award three prizes: Best Film, Best Director and a Special Jury Award.
Joining president Jeremy Irons on the international jury is actress Bérénice Bejo (Argentina / France), producer Bettina Brokemper (Germany), director Annemarie Jacir (Palestine), plawright and director Kenneth Lonergan (USA), actor Luca Marinelli (Italy) and film critic and director Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil).
They will award prizes including the Golden and the Silver Bears to the 18 films in this year’s Competition line up.
Berlin dropped one of its awards, the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer prize, which goes to a film that “opens new perspectives on cinematic art”, after Nazi collaborator accusations emerged against its namesake in German press this week. No word yet on whether the prize will be reintroduced with a new moniker.
The festival’s new competitive section Encounters will see Dominga Sotomayor (Chile), Eva Trobisch (Germany) and Shôzô Ichiyama (Japan) award three prizes: Best Film, Best Director and a Special Jury Award.
- 2/4/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Dubai/Exclusive: Egyptian producer Mohamed Samir has boarded Wheelchair, the first narrative feature from Little Eagles director Mohamed Rashad.
The Alexandria-set drama follows an 18-year-old who makes a life-changing discovery about his uncle. The project was previously selected for the Beirut Cinema Platform co-production market while still at treatment stage in 2015.
Samir previously produced Factory Girl, directed by the late Mohamed Khan, which screened at Diff in 2013.
Rashad, whose first feature documentary Little Eagles is screening in Diff’s Muhr Feature competition, is currently scripting Wheelchair and hopes to start shooting in 2018.
Produced by Hala Lotfy, Little Eagles is an autobiographical documentary about the impact of the revolution on the relationship between Egyptian youth and their formerly leftist parents.
“We used to have anger towards our parents for their passivity. But recent events have helped us understand how revolutionary zeal can fade,” said Rashad. “Researching this film has brought me closer to my own father.”...
The Alexandria-set drama follows an 18-year-old who makes a life-changing discovery about his uncle. The project was previously selected for the Beirut Cinema Platform co-production market while still at treatment stage in 2015.
Samir previously produced Factory Girl, directed by the late Mohamed Khan, which screened at Diff in 2013.
Rashad, whose first feature documentary Little Eagles is screening in Diff’s Muhr Feature competition, is currently scripting Wheelchair and hopes to start shooting in 2018.
Produced by Hala Lotfy, Little Eagles is an autobiographical documentary about the impact of the revolution on the relationship between Egyptian youth and their formerly leftist parents.
“We used to have anger towards our parents for their passivity. But recent events have helped us understand how revolutionary zeal can fade,” said Rashad. “Researching this film has brought me closer to my own father.”...
- 12/11/2016
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Zawya Distribution is ramping up its 2017 slate of Egyptian independent features with titles including Tamer El Said’s In The Last Days Of The City and Mohamed Rashad’s Diff competition title Little Eagles.
The Cairo-based distributor has also picked up Mahmoud Lotfy’s Experimental Summer, about the search to find a copy of Egypt’s first independent film, and Anna Roussillon’s award-winning documentary I Am The People for release next year.
Backed by Egypt’s Misr International, Zawya operates an arthouse theatre, Zawya Cinema, in Cairo, and is working with other exhibitors to expand the circuit for independent films. The company’s larger upcoming titles will be released in Alexandria, Ismailia and Port Said, in addition to Cairo.
“Although funding is difficult, Egypt’s independent scene remains vibrant – you can see that from the line-up here at Diff,” said Zawya head of acquisitions and sales Ahmed Sobky.
Little Eagles, which Zawya picked...
The Cairo-based distributor has also picked up Mahmoud Lotfy’s Experimental Summer, about the search to find a copy of Egypt’s first independent film, and Anna Roussillon’s award-winning documentary I Am The People for release next year.
Backed by Egypt’s Misr International, Zawya operates an arthouse theatre, Zawya Cinema, in Cairo, and is working with other exhibitors to expand the circuit for independent films. The company’s larger upcoming titles will be released in Alexandria, Ismailia and Port Said, in addition to Cairo.
“Although funding is difficult, Egypt’s independent scene remains vibrant – you can see that from the line-up here at Diff,” said Zawya head of acquisitions and sales Ahmed Sobky.
Little Eagles, which Zawya picked...
- 12/11/2016
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
First projects announced for initiative aimed at boosting Dutch features and international co-productions.
Six international and five Dutch projects in development, as well as three works-in-progress, have been selected for the first BoostNL programme that kicks off at the Netherlands Film Festival’s Holland Film Meeting in Utrecht (Sept 22-25) and continues through to International Film Festival Rotterdam’s CineMart 2017 (Jan 29-Feb 1).
The initiative, first reported in May, is designed to strengthen market assistance for international projects that have already received support from the Hubert Bals Fund or have previously been presented at CineMart, as well as Dutch projects in development.
Throughout BoostNL, project participants will benefit from ongoing guidance, whether in terms of business planning or creative decision-making, and participants will be encouraged to incorporate inspired feedback into their project.
One-on-one sessions with key international mentors will deliver bespoke festival, sales and marketing strategies that will support the project through all stages of development, from advanced...
Six international and five Dutch projects in development, as well as three works-in-progress, have been selected for the first BoostNL programme that kicks off at the Netherlands Film Festival’s Holland Film Meeting in Utrecht (Sept 22-25) and continues through to International Film Festival Rotterdam’s CineMart 2017 (Jan 29-Feb 1).
The initiative, first reported in May, is designed to strengthen market assistance for international projects that have already received support from the Hubert Bals Fund or have previously been presented at CineMart, as well as Dutch projects in development.
Throughout BoostNL, project participants will benefit from ongoing guidance, whether in terms of business planning or creative decision-making, and participants will be encouraged to incorporate inspired feedback into their project.
One-on-one sessions with key international mentors will deliver bespoke festival, sales and marketing strategies that will support the project through all stages of development, from advanced...
- 8/19/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir’s Nazareth-set dark comedy Wajib scooped the top prize at Diff’s co-financing event the Dubai Film Connection on Sunday.
The project, following a divorced father as he spends the day with his estranged son delivering wedding invitations for his daughter, won Diff’s $25,000 prize.
Jacir’s long-time producer Ossama Bawardi at their joint company Philistine Films is producing.
The Dfc award came hot on the heels of another two awards for the project. Earlier in the week, the picture also received the Asian Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) film grant as well as a development award from the Tribeca Film Institute.
Jacir previously participated at the Dfc with When I Saw You, which was Palestine’s foreign-language Oscar entry and won best Asian film in Berlin and best Arab film in Abu Dhabi
The Diff prize jury consisted of Loic Magneron, founding chief of Paris-based sales company Wide Management, the Toronto...
The project, following a divorced father as he spends the day with his estranged son delivering wedding invitations for his daughter, won Diff’s $25,000 prize.
Jacir’s long-time producer Ossama Bawardi at their joint company Philistine Films is producing.
The Dfc award came hot on the heels of another two awards for the project. Earlier in the week, the picture also received the Asian Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) film grant as well as a development award from the Tribeca Film Institute.
Jacir previously participated at the Dfc with When I Saw You, which was Palestine’s foreign-language Oscar entry and won best Asian film in Berlin and best Arab film in Abu Dhabi
The Diff prize jury consisted of Loic Magneron, founding chief of Paris-based sales company Wide Management, the Toronto...
- 12/14/2015
- ScreenDaily
Egyptian filmmaker Hala Lotfy (she was on my filmmakers to watch list in 2014) is prepping to go into production on her second feature - a Cairo-set drama titled "The Bridge" - and has attracted Egyptian producer Mohamed Samir and his DayDream Art Productions banner, to the project, which will be shopped at the Dubai Film Connection co-financing event, kicking off today, December 11. "The Bridge," inspired by a true story, follows the events surrounding the death of a young boy after he falls through a hole on a poorly-maintained bridge, with Cairo’s dark underbelly as a backdrop. Lotfy's feature film debut,...
- 12/11/2015
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Egyptian producer Mohamed Samir has boarded compatriot film-maker Hala Lotfy’s Cairo-set drama The Bridge, ahead of its presentation at the Dubai Film Connection co-financing event, which kicks off today (Dec 11).
Inspired by a true story dating back to 2010, the film captures Cairo’s dark underbelly through the events surrounding the death of a child when he falls through a hole in a badly maintained bridge.
Samir, who produces under the Cairo-based DayDream Art Productions banner, said he felt compelled to collaborate with Lotfy’s film collective Hassala on the project due to the “sheer authenticity” of the work.
The Bridge will be Samir’s first production since Mohamed Khan’s romantic drama Factory Girl, starring Yasmin Raeis as an impoverished textile worker, which premiered at Diff in 2013, winning the best actress award and the Fipresci Prize.
Samir is also developing his own feature-length directorial debut The Northern Lights, about Syrian refugees in Sweden, inspired by the...
Inspired by a true story dating back to 2010, the film captures Cairo’s dark underbelly through the events surrounding the death of a child when he falls through a hole in a badly maintained bridge.
Samir, who produces under the Cairo-based DayDream Art Productions banner, said he felt compelled to collaborate with Lotfy’s film collective Hassala on the project due to the “sheer authenticity” of the work.
The Bridge will be Samir’s first production since Mohamed Khan’s romantic drama Factory Girl, starring Yasmin Raeis as an impoverished textile worker, which premiered at Diff in 2013, winning the best actress award and the Fipresci Prize.
Samir is also developing his own feature-length directorial debut The Northern Lights, about Syrian refugees in Sweden, inspired by the...
- 12/10/2015
- ScreenDaily
Annemarie Jacir, Bassem Breish and Hala Lotfy to present projects at co-pro event taking place during Dubai International Film Festival.
Arab cinema focused co-production event the Dubai Film Connection (Dec 10-14) – taking place within the Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) (Dec 9-16) - has unveiled its 2015 line-up.
Returning after a one-year hiatus, the Dfc has unveiled a packed slate of 12 film projects from Palestine, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Morocco and Jordan.
Under new criteria for the relaunched event, the projects must have 20% of the budget in place.
“We were originally going for 10 projects but as there were so many good submissions we managed to squeeze in an extra two,” said director Jane Williams, who has returned as head of the event.
Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir, Lebanese filmmaker Bassem Breish and Egypt’s Hala Lotfy will be among the directors presenting their upcoming feature projects.
Jacir will present her Nazareth-set dark comedy Wajib revolving around an estranged father...
Arab cinema focused co-production event the Dubai Film Connection (Dec 10-14) – taking place within the Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) (Dec 9-16) - has unveiled its 2015 line-up.
Returning after a one-year hiatus, the Dfc has unveiled a packed slate of 12 film projects from Palestine, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Morocco and Jordan.
Under new criteria for the relaunched event, the projects must have 20% of the budget in place.
“We were originally going for 10 projects but as there were so many good submissions we managed to squeeze in an extra two,” said director Jane Williams, who has returned as head of the event.
Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir, Lebanese filmmaker Bassem Breish and Egypt’s Hala Lotfy will be among the directors presenting their upcoming feature projects.
Jacir will present her Nazareth-set dark comedy Wajib revolving around an estranged father...
- 11/16/2015
- ScreenDaily
Irrfan Khan, Christina Voros and Catherine Dussart to preside over feature competition juries; seven world premieres of Arab films in feature competitions.
Abu Dhabi Film Festival (Oct 23-Nov 1) has released the names of its jury members, who will select the award winners of this year’s Adff competitions.
This year’s Narrative Features jury led by Mumbai-based actor Irrfan Khan (The Lunchbox, Life of Pi) will be rounded out by Algerian novelist and academic Waciny Laredj, award-winning English writer-director Steven Shainberg, Australian film director Cate Shortland and Palestinian actor Ali Suliman.
The panel evaluating the New Horizons section led by Paris-based film producer Catherine Dussart (The Missing Picture) includes Syrian actor Bassel Al Khayat, Moroccan filmmaker Leila Kilani, Geneva-based Indian filmmaker Anup Singh and film critic Charles Tesson, artistic director of Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival.
Heading the Documentary Features jury is Brooklyn-based director and cinematographer Christina Voros. The other jury...
Abu Dhabi Film Festival (Oct 23-Nov 1) has released the names of its jury members, who will select the award winners of this year’s Adff competitions.
This year’s Narrative Features jury led by Mumbai-based actor Irrfan Khan (The Lunchbox, Life of Pi) will be rounded out by Algerian novelist and academic Waciny Laredj, award-winning English writer-director Steven Shainberg, Australian film director Cate Shortland and Palestinian actor Ali Suliman.
The panel evaluating the New Horizons section led by Paris-based film producer Catherine Dussart (The Missing Picture) includes Syrian actor Bassel Al Khayat, Moroccan filmmaker Leila Kilani, Geneva-based Indian filmmaker Anup Singh and film critic Charles Tesson, artistic director of Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival.
Heading the Documentary Features jury is Brooklyn-based director and cinematographer Christina Voros. The other jury...
- 10/20/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Titled Coming Forth By Day from director Hala Lotfy (an S&A filmmaker to watch in 2014 and beyond), the film’s first half is entirely set in the suffocating apartment of an old Egyptian man (Ahmed Lutfi), who needs the help of his wife (Salma Al-Najjar) and his daughter, Soad (Donia Maher), for even the most basic tasks, since he can’t even eat by himself or walk. The mother also works at a hospital and has just changed her working hours and now needs to work nights, which means that during the day, she sleeps and the care for the man of the house falls entirely on Soad. Scenes of feeding the father, taking care of his bed sores or changing his bedding are set in the...
- 5/8/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Cairo-based Mad Solutions is presenting a slate of ten high-profile Arabic-language pictures at this year’s Dubai Film Market (Dfm).
Mad will handle regional and international distribution, as well as serve as marketing consultant, on the ten-picture slate, which includes Diff Muhr Arab feature competition titles Factory Girl, directed by Mohamed Khan, and The Mice Room, a feature directed by six Egyptian directors.
The slate also includes three other Diff Muhr Arab competition titles: Mais Darwazah’s creative doc My Love Awaits Me By The Sea; Emirati filmmaker Ali Mostafa’s short film Don’t Judge A Subject By Its Photograph, and Lebanese filmmaker Tobufic Khreish’s short Troubled Waters.
Mad is also handling Ayten Amin’s Villa 69, which recently won a special jury prize at Abu Dhabi Film Festival; Hany Fawzy’s gay-themed drama Family Secrets; and Hala Lotfy’s award-winning narrative feature Coming Forth By Day.
Rounding out the slate are documentary In Search Of Oil And Sand, co-directed...
Mad will handle regional and international distribution, as well as serve as marketing consultant, on the ten-picture slate, which includes Diff Muhr Arab feature competition titles Factory Girl, directed by Mohamed Khan, and The Mice Room, a feature directed by six Egyptian directors.
The slate also includes three other Diff Muhr Arab competition titles: Mais Darwazah’s creative doc My Love Awaits Me By The Sea; Emirati filmmaker Ali Mostafa’s short film Don’t Judge A Subject By Its Photograph, and Lebanese filmmaker Tobufic Khreish’s short Troubled Waters.
Mad is also handling Ayten Amin’s Villa 69, which recently won a special jury prize at Abu Dhabi Film Festival; Hany Fawzy’s gay-themed drama Family Secrets; and Hala Lotfy’s award-winning narrative feature Coming Forth By Day.
Rounding out the slate are documentary In Search Of Oil And Sand, co-directed...
- 12/8/2013
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
★★★★☆ The assured feature debut of Egyptian-born director Hala Lotfy, Coming Forth by Day (Al-khoroug lel-nahar, 2012) follows a meandering 24 hours in the life of a thirty-something Cairo inhabitant. Following a world premiere at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (where it scooped an award), Lotfy's film made its European bow at the 63rd Berlinale earlier this year. Always likely to garner more acclaim on the festival circuit than on general release in English-speaking territories, the film is deliberately slow and evokes the sparse style of modern European arthouse cinema - albeit in the hands of a fledgling filmmaker from North Africa.
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- 3/22/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Titled Coming Forth By Day from director Hala Lotfy, here's some background information courtesy of EuroMed: The film’s first half is entirely set in the suffocating apartment of an old Egyptian man (Ahmed Lutfi), who needs the help of his wife (Salma Al-Najjar) and his daughter, Soad (Donia Maher), for even the most basic tasks, since he can’t even eat by himself or walk. The mother also works at a hospital and has just changed her working hours and now needs to work nights, which means that during the day, she sleeps and the care for the man of the house falls entirely on Soad. Scenes of feeding the father, taking care of his bed sores or changing his bedding...
- 2/20/2013
- by Courtney
- ShadowAndAct
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