Love, Theft, and Other Entanglements Opens Haifa Independent Film Festival in Palestine

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After Taking Part at Silk Road Film Festival in Ireland

Love, Theft, and Other Entanglements Opens Haifa Independent Film Festival in Palestine


As part of its intensive screenings program in international film festivals and before its official release in Arab cinemas through MAD Solutions, director Muayad Alayan's film Love, Theft, and Other Entanglements will open the Haifa Independent Film Festival (14 - 19 March). This comes following the film's participation in the Silk Road Film Festival in Ireland (10 - 14 March).

Haifa Independent Film aims to contribute towards the development of cinema and enhancement of the film industry in Palestine and the entire Arab world. The festival will include five days of films from the Arab world, in addition to international selections. Moreover, the program also includes Palestinian films that will be featured in Haifa for the first time. Giving respect and valued attention to local productions is an important step towards empowering cinema and culture within the community. The film program will be accompanied by concerts and other cultural events. In addition to encouraging cinema, HIFF will also aim to encourage liveliness and cultural activity within Haifa.

The Silk Road Film Festival aims to attract film projects from countries where the ancient Silk Road passed through connecting Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe commercially and culturally.

Shot in black and white, Love, Theft and Other Entanglements 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 also was the Director of Photography for 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, Hussein Nakhleh with MAD Solutions handing the film's distribution in the Arab world.

Love, Theft, and Other Entanglements has gone through a successful world tour where the film's director Muayad Alayan won the Best Narrative award at the 19th Arab Film Festival (AFF) in San Francisco- USA, in October, 2015. The film also competed within the Official Competition for a Debut Film at the 26th Carthage Film Festival in November. Among its participations was also the latest round of the Dubai International Film Festival within the Arabian Nights section, which screens world renowned films with a distinctive Arab flavor.

The film's world premiere was held at Berlin International Film Festival within the Panorama Section and was nominated for the Best First Feature Award at Berlin International Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival in the United States, Taipei Film Festival in Taiwan and Galway Film Fleadh in Ireland. It was also screened as part of the Vancouver International Film Festival (24 September - 9 October) within the Cinema of Our Time section, which every year includes feature films from over 30 countries around the world and encompasses some of the best contemporary films that have either won awards or taken part in distinguished film festivals, such as Cannes and Berlin. The section also includes premiere screenings of the most anticipated feature films that are set to be released in cinemas next year. The film also took part in the Reel Palestine Festival within the Alserkal Avenue in Dubai.

Muayad Alayan is a Palestinian film director, producer and cinematographer based in Jerusalem. After completing his studies in San Francisco, Alayan returned to Palestine with the goal of making culturally authentic cinema by and about Palestinians as a community; a cinema made through the participation of people coming together to tell stories, against all odds and with means that creatively defy limitations. At the age of 22, Alayan tested his vision with his first narrative short, Lesh Sabreen?, which was made by the participation of a group of young adults in his home village focusing on their experiences and concerns as youth living in Jerusalem under society constraints and under occupation.

The film was premiered in competition at the prestigious Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France in 2009 and went on to compete at several other prestigious festivals such as Palm Springs Shortfest and Dubai Film Festival, in addition to over 60 other festivals in 25 countries worldwide.

Love, Theft and Other Entanglements screening times at Silk Road Film Festival (GMT)
Sunday, 13 March at 3:15 pm

Love, Theft and Other Entanglements screening times at Haifa Independent Film Festival (GMT+2) Monday, 14 March at 8:00 pm
Saturday, 19 March a 6:00 pm