‘The Parrot’ to be screened at Royal Film Commission-Jordan

CAIRO – 20 April 2018: The Royal Film Commission - Jordan (RFC) is going to screen the short film “The Parrot” on Sunday.

Directed by Darin J. Salam and Amjad al-Raseed, “The Parrot” revolves around a Jewish family that moves from Tunisia to Palestine following the declaration of the state of Israel in 1948. The family tries to settle in the city of Haifa in a home which belonged to a Palestinian family that fled, leaving behind a blue parrot called Saeed.

The 18-minute film follows Saeed, the talking parrot, which tells stories of the past from when the Palestinian family lived in the house.
Released in 2016, “The Parrot” already won the Robert Bosch Stiflung’s Film Prize for Short Fiction Film. “El Baghbaghan” (The Parrot) stars famous Tunisian star Hend Sabry and Ashraf Barhoum, among others.

Born in 1979 in Kebli, Tunisia, Sabry studied law and completed a Master’s degree in intellectual property and copyright law in 2004; but by then, she had already been acting for about a decade.

She started her acting career in 1994 with the Tunisian film "Samt El Qosour" (The Silence of the Palaces) and starred in "The Season of Men" in 2000; both movies were directed by Moufida Tlatli. She was then introduced to the Egyptian cinema by Inas el-Deghedy in 2001 with the film "Mozakerat Morahka" (The Diary of a Teenager), starring alongside Ahmed Ezz.

Over the years, Sabry participated in movies and dramas tackling the difficulties and stigma facing people, especially women; she also serves as the World Food Program’s regional ambassador. Sabry has received numerous awards for her cinematic career, artistic achievements and her role in tackling key social issues, including an award by the America Abroad Media organization in Washington.

Sabry collaborated with Khaled Abul Naga, Salah Abdallah, and Shaaban Abdel Rehim in "Mowaten Wi Mokhber Wi Haramy" (A Citizen, a Detective and a Thief), directed by Daoud Abdel Sayed. Abdel Sayed surprised everyone by nominating her for the role of an Egyptian girl in the movie; Sabry worked so hard to perfect her Egyptian dialect that we often forget she’s Tunisian.

She went on to play many acclaimed roles in films like "Hallet Hob" (A State of Love), "Ahla El-Awqat" (The Best Times), "Malek Wi Ketaba" (Heads and Tails), "Omaret Yacoubian" (The Yacoubian Building), "Asmaa", "Al Gezira" (The Island), "Heliopolis", "Banat West El-Balad" (Downtown Girls), "Ouija" and "Genent Al-Asmak" (The Aquarium). She also starred in various TV series, including "Vertigo", and the satirical take on post-revolutionary Egypt "Emberatoreyet Meen", among others. Her latest movie, "El-Kenz", portrayed a snippet of the life of ancient Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut.

Her latest TV series, "Halawet El-Donia" (The Sweetness of Life), tackled the journey of a cancer patient through the various stages and the impact the disease has on the patient’s loved ones.