Decor Lands Its Asian Premiere at Singapore International Film Festival

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As Part of a Programme Highlighting Ahmad Abdalla's Films

Decor Lands Its Asian Premiere at Singapore International Film Festival


Ahmad Abdalla's Decor received its Asian Premiere at the 25th Singapore International Film Festival (SIFF). The film screened last Saturday, December 6, as part of the festival's special programme Filmmaker in Focus. The section highlights Ahmad Abdalla's films which will be screened on the festival's silver screens.

SIFF has described Ahmad Abdalla as "one of the most exciting and prominent filmmakers from the new generation of Egyptian cinema, Ahmad Abdalla has created an acclaimed and diverse body of work since making his debut in 2009 with Heliopolis. Known for his innovative and unique approach to filmmaking, which is often a fascinating hybrid of fiction and documentary, his films are astute and revealing studies of contemporary Egyptian society." Abdalla will attend the screenings of his films: Heliopolis, Microphone, Rags and Tatters as well as his new feature Decor at the festival.

In parallel with its remarkable presence at SIFF, Decor has contended within the Official Competition: Feature Films at the 25th Carthage Film Festival. Held in Tunisia every two years, this year's installment witnessed a fierce competition among 14 films from across the world along with Decor.

Before its release across Egyptian theatres through New Century Production, Decor embarked on a festival tour across the world. Last November, Ahmad Abdalla's Decor screened at the 36th Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) within its Special Screenings section. Concurrently, New Century Production rolled out the official poster of the film during its participation at CIFF.

Last October, Decor landed its World Premiere at the BFI London Film Festival, which is one of the largest European festivals screening hundreds of films from around the world every year.

Filmed entirely in black and white, Decor's unconventional plot tells the story of Maha, who has always been passionate about film and who, as a set designer, has become an expert at creating imaginary worlds. Under immense pressure at work, Maha sights another life on the horizon and begins slipping between realities-one resembling the film set she's designed and the other her supposed real life. These two worlds are represented by the characters Sherif and Mustafa. As Maha grows ever more entangled in each, the border between the real and imagined becomes blurred. Maha walks a fine line between her parallel lives, and must decide for the first time what she truly desires.

Starring Khaled Abol Naga, Horeya Farghaly, and Maged El Kedwany, Decor marks Sherin Diab's screenwriting debut. Decor is co-written by Sherin with her brother Mohamed Diab and will be distributed in Egypt by Dollar Film.