Five prominent Arab movies to participate in Palestine Arts Film Festival

CAIRO - 26 July 2020: Five prominent Arab movies will participate in the upcoming edition of Palestine Arts Film Festival in Zurich (August 27 -–30) which are: “Between Heaven and Earth” by Najwa Najjar, the short film, “The Parrot”, by Darin J. Sallam and Amjad Al-Rasheed, “Five Boys and A Wheel” by Said Zagha, “Give Up the Ghost” by Zain Duraie and “Love, Theft and Other Entanglements”by Muayad Alayan.

About” Between Heaven and Earth”:

Based on a true story, the film follows a thirty-something couple, Salma and Tamer, who have been married for the past five years, and living in the Palestinian Territory. The first time Tamer is ever given a three-day permit to cross the Israeli checkpoint, is to file for divorce in the courts in Nazareth. At the courthouse, they are confronted with a staggering discovery, a secret which sends Salma and Tamer spinning on a road trip exploring the loss and betrayal of the past, and of themselves.

Palestinian film Between Heaven and Earth won the Naguib Mahfouz Award for Best Screenplay at the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), where it landed its world premiere and screened in the Official Competition, earning wide audience and critical acclaim due to its high artistic quality. It was also screened within the European Film Market at Berlin Film Festival.

Written and directed by Palestinian filmmaker Najwa Najjar, the film is produced by Ustura Films, in co-production with Paul Thiltges Distributions (Luxembourg) and Oktober Films (Iceland). MAD Solutions handles the film's Arab world distribution.
Screening Time:
Thursday, 27 August, at 6:30 PM (GMT +2)

About “The Parrot”:

The Parrot tells the story of a Mizrahi Jewish family who emigrates from Tunisia and tries to settle into their new life in Haifa, Palestine in 1948. Directed by Darin J. Sallam and Amjad Al-Rasheed (Jordan), the film stars Hend Sabry, Ashraf Barhoum, Yasmine Ben Amara, Eyad Hourani, Firas Taybeh, Lara Sawalha, and Ahmad Al-Madani, and is written by Darin J.Sallam, Amjad Al-Rasheed, and Rifqi Assaf.

The film had its world premiere at Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) within the Muhr Short competition. The film is funded by the German Foundation Robert Bosch Stiftung (RBS), which funds the Best German-Arab film projects. The Parrot received the 2015 Film Prize of RBS in the short fiction category, the Jury Award at the Malmo Arab Film Festival in Sweden, and the Sunbird Short Film Award within Palestinian Days of Cinema.
Screening Time:
Saturday, 29 August, at 4:00 PM

About “Five Boys and A Wheel”:

Starring Ali Suliman, Nadira Omran and Haydar Kfoof, Five Boys and A Wheel is based on American author Raymond Carver's short story 'Bicycles, Muscles, Cigarettes'. MAD Solutions is handling the film's distribution across the Arab world.

The film is set in Jordan where a young father has to help his son out of a petty conflict with the neighbors. As the parents of each respective family are summoned to discuss the issue at hand, the discussions begin to quickly spin out of control, putting the values of the father to test. Directed by Said Zagha, the film made its world premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF).
Screening Time:
Sunday, 30 August, at 2:00 PM

About “Give Up the Ghost”:

Give Up the Ghost tells the story of Salam whose dreams of becoming a mother shatters when she finds out that she is unable to have children with her husband. Written and directed by Zain Duraie and produced by Tabi360 (Alaa Alasad), the film brings together Maria Zurek and Zaid Bakri in the leading roles and is shot by DOP Benoit Chamaillard. MAD Solutions handles the film's distribution in the Arab world.

Previously, the film won Vimeo Staff Pick Award at Palm Springs International ShortFest, marking the second international award for the film after winning El Gouna Star for the Best Arab Short Film. Landing its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, Give Up the Ghost has been screened in several festivals, including Sudan Independent Film Festival, Haifa Independent Film Festival in Palestine and Rabat International Author Film Festival (FICAR).
Screening Time:
Sunday, 30 August, at 2:00 PM

About “Love, Theft and Other Entanglements”: 

The film had its world premiere in the Panorama section at the Berlin International Film Festival, contending on the Best First Feature award there as well as at Seattle International Film Festival, USA, Taipei Film Festival, Taiwan and Galway Film Fleadh, Ireland.

Shot in black and white, the film revolves around a Palestinian car thief who gets into the trouble of his life when he steals the wrong car. What he thought was an Israeli car and an easy way to make money, turns out to be a load of misfortune when he discovers a kidnapped Israeli soldier in the trunk.

Love, Theft and Other Entanglements is director Muayad Alayan's debut feature film. He is also the Director of Photography of the film, which was co-written and co-produced with Rami Alayan through PalCine Productions. The film stars Sami Metwasi, Maya Abu Alhayyat, Ramzi Maqdisi, Riyad Sliman, Kamel Elbasha and Hussein Nakhleh with MAD Solutions handling the film's distribution in the Arab world.
Screening Time:
Saturday, 29 August, at 8:30 PM.