Exclusive: Nicolas Cage, FKA twigs, Noah Jupe and Souheila Yacoub are set to star in Egyptian-American director Lotfy Nathan’s The Carpenter’s Son exploring the rarely told story of the childhood of Jesus with a horror take.
Paris-based Cinenovo and L.A.-based Spacemaker are producing. Goodfellas is overseeing international sales apart from in North America, which it will co-rep with Anonymous Content and WME.
Nathan has taken inspiration from the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Thomas for the screenplay. Dating back to the 2nd Century Ad, the text recounts the childhood of Jesus.
Per the official synopsis, “The Carpenter’s Son tells the dark story of a family hiding out in Roman Egypt. The son, known only as ‘the Boy’, is driven to doubt by another mysterious child and rebels against his guardian, the Carpenter, revealing inherent powers and a fate beyond his comprehension. As he exercises his own power,...
Paris-based Cinenovo and L.A.-based Spacemaker are producing. Goodfellas is overseeing international sales apart from in North America, which it will co-rep with Anonymous Content and WME.
Nathan has taken inspiration from the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Thomas for the screenplay. Dating back to the 2nd Century Ad, the text recounts the childhood of Jesus.
Per the official synopsis, “The Carpenter’s Son tells the dark story of a family hiding out in Roman Egypt. The son, known only as ‘the Boy’, is driven to doubt by another mysterious child and rebels against his guardian, the Carpenter, revealing inherent powers and a fate beyond his comprehension. As he exercises his own power,...
- 5/6/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Death in the Garden: Chebbi Debuts Eerie, Nuanced Murder Mystery
In a supremely frightening sense, the events transpiring in Ashkal (which means ‘shapes’ in Arabic) recalls both the ideas outlined in James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time and the opening line of Fahrenheit 451; “It was a pleasure to burn.” Only, where Ray Bradbury was referring to books, Youssef Chebbi’s film concerns the burning of humans via self-immolation. Tying his narrative to the overthrow of Tunisia’s dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in 2010, instigated by the self-immolation of street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi (which catalyzed the larger scale events termed the Arab Spring), Chebbi paints a picture of a new but troubled democracy overshadowed by the recent past, as evidenced by the ongoing political crises involving President Kais Said’s various actions some have regarded as a self coup.…...
In a supremely frightening sense, the events transpiring in Ashkal (which means ‘shapes’ in Arabic) recalls both the ideas outlined in James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time and the opening line of Fahrenheit 451; “It was a pleasure to burn.” Only, where Ray Bradbury was referring to books, Youssef Chebbi’s film concerns the burning of humans via self-immolation. Tying his narrative to the overthrow of Tunisia’s dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in 2010, instigated by the self-immolation of street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi (which catalyzed the larger scale events termed the Arab Spring), Chebbi paints a picture of a new but troubled democracy overshadowed by the recent past, as evidenced by the ongoing political crises involving President Kais Said’s various actions some have regarded as a self coup.…...
- 8/14/2023
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Dramatising the tragedy of a Tunisian man inspired by street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi, Lotfy Nathan’s film draws on deep sorrow and anger
Lotfy Nathan has drawn from a deep well of sorrow and rage for this anguished drama, leading the audience to its horrible dénouement like a trail of burning petrol: the title itself means “burning”. It is inspired by the story of Mohamed Bouazizi, the Tunisian street vendor who in 2011 ignited the Arab Spring (all too literally) by setting himself on fire outside the governor’s office in the central Tunisian city of Sidi Bouzid – making it the uprising’s Ground Zero – in protest against official corruption and the police who had beaten him when he could no longer pay their bribes.
Adam Bessa plays Ali, a young guy who sells black-market petrol on a street corner, paying off hatchet-faced cops as he does so while dreaming of...
Lotfy Nathan has drawn from a deep well of sorrow and rage for this anguished drama, leading the audience to its horrible dénouement like a trail of burning petrol: the title itself means “burning”. It is inspired by the story of Mohamed Bouazizi, the Tunisian street vendor who in 2011 ignited the Arab Spring (all too literally) by setting himself on fire outside the governor’s office in the central Tunisian city of Sidi Bouzid – making it the uprising’s Ground Zero – in protest against official corruption and the police who had beaten him when he could no longer pay their bribes.
Adam Bessa plays Ali, a young guy who sells black-market petrol on a street corner, paying off hatchet-faced cops as he does so while dreaming of...
- 5/3/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Lotfy Nathan's Tunisian-set drama Harka arrives in cinemas this week after a strong festival run since last year's Cannes and with a raft of awards under its belt. Its star Adam Bessa was named best actor in the French festival's Un Certain Regard section for an intense central performance, that has gone on to win additional accolades elsewhere. He plays Ali - a character inspired by the real life tragedy of Mohamed Bouazizi - who sells illegal gasoline to make ends meet. Nathan's tale follows Ali as he finds himself trying to take care of his younger sisters Alyssa (Salima Maatoug) and Sarra (Ikbal Harbi) following the death of his father while facing an increasing amount of social injustice. We caught up with Nathan to talk about the inspiration for the film and the...
- 5/2/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
It was approximately 11:30am on the 17th of Decmber, 2010, when Mohamed Bouazizi – better known to his friends as Basbousa – set himself on fire. He would die two weeks later in hospital. By then his desperate action would have inspired thousands to join the Tunisian revolution and contributed to the broader movemnent which became known as the Arab Spring. Major political changes have occurred in his country since – for good or ill – but the poverty which appears to have motivated him is still widespread. The world at large continues to turn a blind eye to such suffering.
One man who took notice of Basbousa’s act was US filmmaker Lotfy Nathan, who was inspired to explore that kind of poverty and the despair it causes in this film. Here we follow Ali (Adam Bessa), who makes his living, as many people do, by selling gasoline without a permit....
One man who took notice of Basbousa’s act was US filmmaker Lotfy Nathan, who was inspired to explore that kind of poverty and the despair it causes in this film. Here we follow Ali (Adam Bessa), who makes his living, as many people do, by selling gasoline without a permit....
- 3/23/2023
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The compelling contemporary drama “Harka” takes place more than a decade after the start of Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution, yet its frustrated outsider protagonist must try to make his way in circumstances resembling those of Mohamed Bouazizi, the 27-year-old street vendor whose self-immolation sparked that revolution and brought a fresh focus on the country’s corrupt officials and lack of opportunity. Following the well-received documentary “12 O’Clock Boys,” U.K.-born, U.S.-based helmer-writer Lotfy Nathan makes a blistering feature debut that highlights the daily indignities apt to drive a human to an act of desperation. The film world premiered in Cannes, where Adam Bessa’s superlative, all-in lead performance collected the actor prize in Un Certain Regard; six months later, it nabbed the directing nod at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea fest.
Quiet, lanky twentysomething Ali left his family home in Sidi Bouzid as a teenager and is...
Quiet, lanky twentysomething Ali left his family home in Sidi Bouzid as a teenager and is...
- 12/14/2022
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
The main competition of the 2nd edition of the Red Sea Film Festival – the Red Sea: Features Competition – underlines the fest’s ambition to celebrate pioneering works from filmmakers in the Arab region, Asia and Africa.
Oliver Stone presides the jury, whose other members include Palestinian actor Ali Suleiman (“Paradise Now”), Egyptian star Nelly Karim (“The Blue Elephant”), Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania (Oscar nominee “The Man Who Sold His Skin”), and Georgian director Levan Koguashvili (“Blind Dates”).
The 15 titles include nine films from the Middle East and North Africa region (of which six are from Middle East and three from North Africa), two films from Sub-Saharan Africa, and four films from Asia. They are directed by four women and 11 men. The competition includes two world premieres, four Mena premieres and one Arab premiere.
“Before Now and Then” – Indonesian helmer Kamila Andini’s third feature set in 1960s Indonesia, where the influential Mr.
Oliver Stone presides the jury, whose other members include Palestinian actor Ali Suleiman (“Paradise Now”), Egyptian star Nelly Karim (“The Blue Elephant”), Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania (Oscar nominee “The Man Who Sold His Skin”), and Georgian director Levan Koguashvili (“Blind Dates”).
The 15 titles include nine films from the Middle East and North Africa region (of which six are from Middle East and three from North Africa), two films from Sub-Saharan Africa, and four films from Asia. They are directed by four women and 11 men. The competition includes two world premieres, four Mena premieres and one Arab premiere.
“Before Now and Then” – Indonesian helmer Kamila Andini’s third feature set in 1960s Indonesia, where the influential Mr.
- 12/1/2022
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
French-Moroccan actor Kamel Labroudi to star as Tunisian street vendor who took his own life as a protest.
German production outfit DETAiLFILM and Paris-based Cinenovo are teaming with Us companies Beachside Films and Anonymous Content on Before The Spring, a drama based on the life of Mohamed Bouazizi.
Bouazizi was a Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire in protest of his treatment by officials; the act of defiance was one of the catalysts for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring.
Egyptian-British filmmaker Lotfy Nathan is making his narrative feature debut on the project. Nathan’s documentary 12 O’Clock Boys,...
German production outfit DETAiLFILM and Paris-based Cinenovo are teaming with Us companies Beachside Films and Anonymous Content on Before The Spring, a drama based on the life of Mohamed Bouazizi.
Bouazizi was a Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire in protest of his treatment by officials; the act of defiance was one of the catalysts for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring.
Egyptian-British filmmaker Lotfy Nathan is making his narrative feature debut on the project. Nathan’s documentary 12 O’Clock Boys,...
- 5/17/2019
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
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