Jordan’s Royal Film Commission has pulled Egyptian director Mohamed Diab’s drama “Amira” – which was filmed in Jordan and is set in the Palestinian West Bank – as its submission to the 2022 international feature Oscar race following a storm of social media controversy against the film.
Pic, which takes its cue from real-life instances of Palestinian children conceived behind bars in Israeli jails with smuggled sperm, has suddenly prompted a rapidly increasing number of Palestinian activists to protest on Twiter and other social media. The film premiered in Venice in September and subsequently played at the El Gouna fest in Egypt and the Carthage fest in Tunisia.
Since 2012, more than 100 children have been conceived using the smuggled sperm of incarcerated Palestinians, according to the end titles of the film which revolves around a teenage girl who believes she was conceived from the sperm of a Palestinian activist serving a life sentence.
Pic, which takes its cue from real-life instances of Palestinian children conceived behind bars in Israeli jails with smuggled sperm, has suddenly prompted a rapidly increasing number of Palestinian activists to protest on Twiter and other social media. The film premiered in Venice in September and subsequently played at the El Gouna fest in Egypt and the Carthage fest in Tunisia.
Since 2012, more than 100 children have been conceived using the smuggled sperm of incarcerated Palestinians, according to the end titles of the film which revolves around a teenage girl who believes she was conceived from the sperm of a Palestinian activist serving a life sentence.
- 12/9/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Film revolves around a West Bank teenager conceived via the smuggled sperm of a Palestinian prisoner.
Jordan’s Royal Film Commission has withdrawn Egyptian director Mohamed Diab’s drama Amira as its submission to the 2022 international feature Oscar race following a local backlash against the film.
Filmed in Jordan and set in the Palestinian West Bank, the film was inspired by the true phenomenon of children conceived using the smuggled sperm of Palestinian prisoners imprisoned in Israeli jails.
It revolves around the fictional tale of a teenage girl who believes she was conceived from the sperm of a famous Palestinian activist serving a life term.
Jordan’s Royal Film Commission has withdrawn Egyptian director Mohamed Diab’s drama Amira as its submission to the 2022 international feature Oscar race following a local backlash against the film.
Filmed in Jordan and set in the Palestinian West Bank, the film was inspired by the true phenomenon of children conceived using the smuggled sperm of Palestinian prisoners imprisoned in Israeli jails.
It revolves around the fictional tale of a teenage girl who believes she was conceived from the sperm of a famous Palestinian activist serving a life term.
- 12/9/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The glitterati was out in full force in Jeddah on Monday night as the inaugural Red Sea International Film Festival kicked off with the Middle Eastern premiere of Joe Wright’s musical romance Cyrano.
Stars such as Catherine Deneuve, Saudi helmer Haifaa Al-Mansour, Anthony Mackie, Clive Owen, Hilary Swank, Vincent Cassel and Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux all graced the red carpet at the specially constructed Red Sea Gala Theatre, in the city’s Unesco World Heritage Site old town (Al Balad). Additional Arab stars and filmmaking talent included Hany Abu-Assad, Amira Diab, Mohamed Henedy and Egyptian actress Laila Eloui. Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Farhan Al-Saud was also in attendance.
Before the film commenced, Mohammed Al-Turki, chairman of the Red Sea International Film Festival committee, told delegates that the country’s first ever film festival was a watershed moment, as the country begins “embracing...
Stars such as Catherine Deneuve, Saudi helmer Haifaa Al-Mansour, Anthony Mackie, Clive Owen, Hilary Swank, Vincent Cassel and Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux all graced the red carpet at the specially constructed Red Sea Gala Theatre, in the city’s Unesco World Heritage Site old town (Al Balad). Additional Arab stars and filmmaking talent included Hany Abu-Assad, Amira Diab, Mohamed Henedy and Egyptian actress Laila Eloui. Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Farhan Al-Saud was also in attendance.
Before the film commenced, Mohammed Al-Turki, chairman of the Red Sea International Film Festival committee, told delegates that the country’s first ever film festival was a watershed moment, as the country begins “embracing...
- 12/6/2021
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
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,...
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,...
- 12/6/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
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,...
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,...
- 9/11/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
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 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,...
- 8/11/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
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...
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...
- 8/11/2021
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
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...
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...
- 12/6/2020
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Variety Film + TV
Parent event Cairo International Film Festival pushing on with 42nd edition.
Upcoming features by veteran Egyptian filmmaker Yousry Nasrallah and Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania are among 15 projects selected for the 7th edition of the Cairo Film Connection (Cfc), aimed at finding partners for Arab works in development and in post-production.
The event is an integral part of the Cairo Industry Days programme of the Cairo International Film Festival (Ciff), which is pushing on with plans to hold a live 42nd edition in November in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic.
There were 105 project submissions from across 12 Arab countries to the Cfc this year.
Upcoming features by veteran Egyptian filmmaker Yousry Nasrallah and Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania are among 15 projects selected for the 7th edition of the Cairo Film Connection (Cfc), aimed at finding partners for Arab works in development and in post-production.
The event is an integral part of the Cairo Industry Days programme of the Cairo International Film Festival (Ciff), which is pushing on with plans to hold a live 42nd edition in November in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic.
There were 105 project submissions from across 12 Arab countries to the Cfc this year.
- 9/15/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
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...
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...
- 6/24/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦
- ScreenDaily
Twice Academy Award-nominated writer-director Hany Abu-Assad is teaming with Abbout Productions, Lebanon’s top indie shingle, on TV series project “The King’s Wives.”
The six-episode fiction, pitched Feb. 25 at the 2020 Berlinale Co-Pro Series, is set to be the first TV drama produced by Abbout, a Beirut-set production house run by Georges Schoucair, best known to date for films with a distinctly Arab voice.
Scheduled to shoot from fall 2021 in Morocco or Turkey, “The King’s Wives” is conceived as a multicultural project, with Palestinian-Dutch Abu-Assad as co-creator and showrunner, production by a Lebanese team, with a cast coming from all over the Arab world and international heads of departments.
A TV drama with humorous elements, set in a modern unnamed Arab monarchy, “The King’s Wives” follows Zein, a revolutionary princess who wants to challenge the monarchy and improve women’s rights.
She aligns with her progressive husband, Prince Malik,...
The six-episode fiction, pitched Feb. 25 at the 2020 Berlinale Co-Pro Series, is set to be the first TV drama produced by Abbout, a Beirut-set production house run by Georges Schoucair, best known to date for films with a distinctly Arab voice.
Scheduled to shoot from fall 2021 in Morocco or Turkey, “The King’s Wives” is conceived as a multicultural project, with Palestinian-Dutch Abu-Assad as co-creator and showrunner, production by a Lebanese team, with a cast coming from all over the Arab world and international heads of departments.
A TV drama with humorous elements, set in a modern unnamed Arab monarchy, “The King’s Wives” follows Zein, a revolutionary princess who wants to challenge the monarchy and improve women’s rights.
She aligns with her progressive husband, Prince Malik,...
- 2/25/2020
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
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...
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...
- 2/20/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Includes new films from Ann Hui, Mohamed Diab and Kaouther Ben Hania.Asia
Love After Love (China)
Dir. Ann Hui
Hong Kong filmmaker Ann Hui revisits the work of Eileen Chang with this adaptation of 1943 novella Aloeswood Incense about a young woman from Shanghai who heads to Hong Kong to continue her studies, but ends up working for her aunt, seducing rich and powerful men. The cast features Eddie Peng, Ma Sichun and Faye Yu. Hui is regularly feted on the Asian festival circuit but has not been selected for an A-list European event since 2011 when A Simple Life played in competition in Venice.
Love After Love (China)
Dir. Ann Hui
Hong Kong filmmaker Ann Hui revisits the work of Eileen Chang with this adaptation of 1943 novella Aloeswood Incense about a young woman from Shanghai who heads to Hong Kong to continue her studies, but ends up working for her aunt, seducing rich and powerful men. The cast features Eddie Peng, Ma Sichun and Faye Yu. Hui is regularly feted on the Asian festival circuit but has not been selected for an A-list European event since 2011 when A Simple Life played in competition in Venice.
- 1/14/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦¬134¦Jean Noh¦516¦
- ScreenDaily
It is the third feature by Egyptian director Mohamed Diab after ’678’ and ’Clash’.
Paris-based Pyramide International has acquired international rights to Mohamed Diab’s coming of age drama Amira, excluding Arab-language territories and Israel. CAA Media Finance is handling Us rights.
The film wrapped shooting in Jordan this week.
Sister company Pyramide Films will handle the French release, having previously handled Diab’s Clash and 678.
The Palestine-set drama marks the feature debut of actress Tara Abboud who stars as a bubbly 17-year-old who has grown-up believing she was conceived with the smuggled sperm of her imprisoned father.
Her sense of...
Paris-based Pyramide International has acquired international rights to Mohamed Diab’s coming of age drama Amira, excluding Arab-language territories and Israel. CAA Media Finance is handling Us rights.
The film wrapped shooting in Jordan this week.
Sister company Pyramide Films will handle the French release, having previously handled Diab’s Clash and 678.
The Palestine-set drama marks the feature debut of actress Tara Abboud who stars as a bubbly 17-year-old who has grown-up believing she was conceived with the smuggled sperm of her imprisoned father.
Her sense of...
- 12/19/2019
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
New initiative is organised in collaboration with the TorinoFilmLab.
The Red Sea International Film Festival, which is due to take place for the first time in the Saudi port city of Jeddah from March 12-21, 2020, has unveiled the 12 projects that will participate in its inaugural Red Sea Lodge feature film development lab.
The selection comprises six Saudi projects as well as six productions from Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon, by both emerging and established filmmakers.
They include new films by Lebanese director Hadi Ghandour, Palestinian producer and filmmaker Amira Diab and Jordanian director Amjad Al-Rasheed
Ghandour will attend with...
The Red Sea International Film Festival, which is due to take place for the first time in the Saudi port city of Jeddah from March 12-21, 2020, has unveiled the 12 projects that will participate in its inaugural Red Sea Lodge feature film development lab.
The selection comprises six Saudi projects as well as six productions from Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon, by both emerging and established filmmakers.
They include new films by Lebanese director Hadi Ghandour, Palestinian producer and filmmaker Amira Diab and Jordanian director Amjad Al-Rasheed
Ghandour will attend with...
- 10/1/2019
- by 1100380¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
The upcoming Red Sea International Film Festival, which is Saudi Arabia’s first major film event, has announced a first batch of Arabic projects that will benefit from a total of up to $3 million in support as well as mentoring through its Sundance-like development program, the Red Sea Lodge.
The program has been set up to nurture new voices in Arab cinema at the fest, the inaugural edition of which will run March 12-21, 2020, in the historic district of Jeddah, which is a Unesco World Heritage site.
The Red Sea Lodge is operated in tandem with Italy’s TorinoFilmLab and includes three workshops to be held in Jeddah, the first of which will take place next month. The program will support six projects from Saudi Arabia and six from the Arab world at large, excluding Qatar, with which Saudi Arabia is locked in a diplomatic standoff.
The six Saudi projects touch on potentially edgy topics,...
The program has been set up to nurture new voices in Arab cinema at the fest, the inaugural edition of which will run March 12-21, 2020, in the historic district of Jeddah, which is a Unesco World Heritage site.
The Red Sea Lodge is operated in tandem with Italy’s TorinoFilmLab and includes three workshops to be held in Jeddah, the first of which will take place next month. The program will support six projects from Saudi Arabia and six from the Arab world at large, excluding Qatar, with which Saudi Arabia is locked in a diplomatic standoff.
The six Saudi projects touch on potentially edgy topics,...
- 10/1/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Stephen Page.s innovative debut Spear is one of five nominees for the Unesco award in the 9th Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Adapted from Page.s original work, Spear tells a contemporary Aboriginal story through movement and dance as it follows young Aboriginal man Djali as he journeys through his community to understand what it means to be a man with ancient traditions in a modern world.
The producer is John Harvey, co-produced with Page.s Bangarra Dance Theatre and supported by he Adelaide Film Festival.s Hive Fund. The film had its world premiere in the discovery program at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Determined by the Apsa international jury, the Unesco award recognises outstanding contribution to the promotion and preservation of the cultural diversity through the medium of film.
In previous years the prize-winner was selected from all Apsa-nominated films. For the first time this year, five films...
The producer is John Harvey, co-produced with Page.s Bangarra Dance Theatre and supported by he Adelaide Film Festival.s Hive Fund. The film had its world premiere in the discovery program at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Determined by the Apsa international jury, the Unesco award recognises outstanding contribution to the promotion and preservation of the cultural diversity through the medium of film.
In previous years the prize-winner was selected from all Apsa-nominated films. For the first time this year, five films...
- 10/5/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.