Barakah Meets Barakah Kicks off Its Theatrical Run in Palestine

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To Release in Cinemas and Compete in the Haifa Independent Film Festival

Barakah Meets Barakah Kicks off Its Theatrical Run in Palestine


Director Mahmoud Sabbagh's Saudi film Barakah Meets Barakah starts its theatrical run in Palestine as it will be released next Thursday, the 9th of February at the Palestine Tower Cinema. During March, the film will be screened at Al Quds Cinema in Yabous Cultural Centre and Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center. Moreover, Barakah Meets Barakah will take part in the Haifa Independent Film Festival (HIFF) from the 14th to the 19th of March.

During February, Barakah Meets Barakah will be contending in the official competition of the Festival International du Film de Dakhla in Morocco (15-20 February). Most recently, the film participated at the 4th Sudan Independent Festival (SIFF).

Barakah Meets Barakah received a Certificate of Appreciation within the Prospects of Arab Cinema (PAC) programme at the closing ceremony of the 38th Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF).
The film was chosen by the 60th BFI London Film Festival, run by the British Film Institute (BFI), to compete within the Laugh Gala, and also took part in the 27th Carthage Film Festival (JCC). Moreover, the film has also been selected to compete within the Special Presentations section at the 41st Toronto International Film Festival following its world premiere at the 66th Berlinale where it won the Ecumenical Jury Prize within the Forum section.

Barakah Meets Barakah tells the story of two lovers who are united in an environment hostile to dating of any kind. He is Barakah, the municipal civil servant from Jeddah, who is also an amateur actor in a theatrical troupe. She is Barakah, a wild beauty, who functions as a crowd-puller for her stylish mother's boutique and runs her own widely-seen vlog. They both defy customs and traditions, as well as the religious police, using modern communication technologies and traditional dating methods.

MAD Solutions, alongside Film Clinic-Indie Distribution (FCID), has announced the acquisition of the Arab world distribution rights to the Saudi film through the French sales agency MPM Film.

Produced by El Housh Productions, Barakah Meets Barakah stars Hisham Fageeh, Fatima Al Banawi, Sami Hifny, Abdulmajeed Alruhaidi and Khairia Nazmi. The film is written and directed by Mahmoud Sabbagh. Born in Jeddah, Mahmoud Sabbagh is a Saudi director who studied Documentary Filmmaking in New York. He later worked as an independent film director and producer in Saudi Arabia. His repertoire includes the documentary The Story of Hamza Shahata (2013), TV series Cash (2014) and his feature debut film Barakah Meets Barakah.