MAD Solutions Boasts Seven Films at the Karama Beirut Human Rights Film Festival

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The Borrowed Dress| Gaza Surf Club| A Drowning Man| City Soul| The Band| Abraham| 17

MAD Solutions Boasts Seven Films at the Karama Beirut Human Rights Film Festival


MAD Solutions sends seven films from its list to take part in the 3rd Karama Beirut Human Rights Film Festival that will be held as of Tuesday, July 17 at Empire Metropolis Sofil Cinema, Achrafieh in Lebanon. The MAD roster of films include: A Drowning Man by director Mahdi Fleifel, Gaza Surf Club by directors Philip Gnadt and Mickey Yamine, The Borrowed Dress by directors Leen Alfaisal, City Soul by directors Hicham Lasri, The Band by director Albaqer Jafeer, Abraham by director Ali Kareem Obaid, and 17 by Widad Shafakoj.

With the attendance of director Mickey Yamine, Gaza Surf Club is opening the current edition of the festival, while The Band is ending the festival's activities, with the attendance of director Albaqer Jafeer. Director Leen Alfaisal is attending the screening of her film The Borrowed Dress.

The Karama Beirut Human Rights Film Festival is one of the branched out subsidiaries of the Karama Festival, which was founded in 2010 in Amman, Jordan. Its program includes film screenings and human rights activities. The festival seeks to contribute to the spread of human rights that combat racism, hatred, discrimination and injustice. With an aim of supporting minorities, the festival presents selected films from around the world and holds open debates to highlight human rights violations around the world and prospects for social change and progress.

About The Borrowed Dress:

Grandmother Susu (80 years old), her daughter Doaa (50 years old), and her grandchild Saad (16 years old) are forced to flee Syria after the beginning of the revolution to live in different scattered places, with the one thing left to share being their desire to reunite. The details of their personal stories and human experiences are microcosms of two stories: one of a population that has spread all over the world, and the other of a homeland that might have changed forever.

The Borrowed Dress world premiered at the London International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema, where it competed for the Best Foreign Language Documentary, Best Director of a Foreign Language Documentary and the Best Editing of a Short Documentary. The film won the Best Documentary award at the Silk Road International Film Festival (SRIFF).

Written and directed by Leen Alfaisal, her documentary directorial debut, The Borrowed Dress is produced by Sarah Hassan and Alaa Alassad (Creative Media Solutions). The film stars Siham Abu Nabbout, Doaa Al Zoabi and Saad Alkuwatly. The Borrowed Dress is distributed by MAD Solutions in the Arab world.

About A Drowning Man:

Alone and far from home, the kid makes his way through a strange city looking for the means to get through his day. Surrounded by predators, he is forced to make compromises merely to survive, and his life of exile grows one day longer.

The film made its world premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival as the only Arab participation in the Short Films competition and participated in the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), within its Short Cuts competition.

Written and directer by Mahdi Fleifel, A Drowning Man stars Atef Alshafei, Jalal Qaniry, Mounir Al khateeb, Rebih El-Saleous, and Thymios Koukios. The film is produced by Final Cut for Real, Nakba Film Works and distributed through the Arab world by MAD Solutions, while Salaud Morisset is handling the film's world sales.

About 17:

17 follows the Jordanian under-17 women's football team as they prepare for the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup Jordan 2016. Coming from different backgrounds, each of the girls has faced a different set of challenges as a national team player. But now they come together to face their biggest challenge yet. 17 is a social exploration into the lives of young women who are passionate about a sport they have been told was only for men. Will Anoud make it in the final squad? Will Leen be ready to play in this world-class event with so little time to prepare? Will the odds finally start working for the team?

17 is directed by Widad Shafakoj, produced by Muna Fityani and distributed in the Arab world by MAD Solutions. In 2017, the film screened at a number of prestigious film festivals around the world including; the Carthage Film Festival (JCC) in Tunisia and the Arab Film Festival in California, USA.

About Gaza Surf Club:

Trapped in "the world's largest open-air prison" and ruled by war, a new generation is drawn to the country's coastline. Sick of occupation and political gridlock, they find their own personal freedom in the waves of the Mediterranean - they are the surfers of Gaza.

Directed by Philip Gnadt and Mickey Yamine and co-produced by Stephanie Yamine, Gaza Surf Club is a feature documentary film that stars Sabah Abu Ghanem, Mohammed Abu Jayab and Ibrahim Arafat. The film is distributed through the Arab world by MAD Solutions.

About The Band:

The film tells the story of Hulm Band that is made up of six musicians who are sparing no efforts to fulfill their dream of playing Sufi music in their hometown, Sadr city in Iraq. They only face one dilemma which lies in the fact that they can get murdered for playing music in a city where music is forbidden. In 67 minutes, the film follows the band members as they open up to the film's director, Albaqer Jafeer, on their dreams, aspirations and the reality in which they find themselves. The Band is written and directed by Albaqer Jafeer, and distributed in the Arab world by MAD Solutions.

About City Soul:

A short film tells the story of a child who walks with a mirror through the sprawling Casablan can metropolis in order to capture its soul. The living, breathing soul of Casablanca is found within the parade of human life the youngster encounters along the way.

Written and directed by Hicham Lasri, City Soul stars Hamid Najah, Salma Dlimi, and Adil Mouloudi. MAD Solutions is handling the film's distribution through the Arab world. The film landed its world premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF).

About Abraham:
Set against the backdrop of ISIS' imposition of the "jizya" or tax on non-Muslims in its territories, a Christian family devises a plan to protect its only daughter. However, their "perfect" solution might end up having more tragic consequences than intended. Abraham is directed by Ali Kareem Obaid and stars Sara El Debuçh, Mohamed Zouaoui, Basil Al Ali, Faisal Dasser and Wolf Layban.

Screening times of the films at Karama Beirut Human Rights Film Festival Lebanon Time (GMT+2):

Gaza Surf Club: Tuesday, July 17, at 08:00 pm
The Shorts (A Drowning Man, Abraham, City Soul): Wednesday, July 18, at 06:00 pm
The Borrowed Dress: Wednesday, July 18, at 09:30 pm
17: Friday, July 20, 07:30 pm
The Band: Closing film, Friday, July 20, 09:30 pm