MAD Solutions Competes with Four Films in the Tripoli Film Festival's Official Competition

Back to Press Releases

Weldi| The Tower| Dreamaway| Before We Heal

MAD Solutions Competes with Four Films in the Tripoli Film Festival's Official Competition


MAD Solutions screens four films from its distribution list within the official competition of the Tripoli Film Festival in Lebanon (9 - 19 June). The films are Weldi by Mohamed Ben Attia, the animation film The Tower by director Mats Grorud, Dreamaway by Egyptian director Marouan Omara and German director Johanna Domke, and the short film Before We Heal by Nadim Hobeika.

The Tripoli Film Festival is a cinematic event conceived to ameliorate the image of the city with three main objectives; enriching the local cultural environment in Tripoli, promoting the rich cultural heritage of Tripoli and its local artists, and branding and marketing Tripoli and its region as a highly promising tourist destination.

About Weldi:

Weldi follows Riadh, who is about to retire from his work as a forklift operator at the port of Tunis. The life he shares with his wife Nazli revolves around their only son Sami, who is preparing for his high school exams. The boy's repeated migraine attacks are a cause of much worry to his parents. But when he finally seems to be getting better, Sami suddenly disappears.

Directed and written by Mohamed Ben Attia, and co-produced by Dora Bouchoucha's Nomadis Images, Les Films du Fleuve and Tanit Films, Weldi stars Mohamed Dhrif, Mouna Mejri, Zakaria Ben Ayed, Imen Cherif, Taylan Mintas and Tarik Copti. The film is distributed by MAD Solutions in the Arab world.

The film made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival within its Directors' Fortnight section, and competed in the Official Competition of the El Gouna Film Festival, where Tunisian actor Mohamed Dhrif won the El Gouna Star for Best Actor. The film won the Grand Prix at the Festival du Film Méditerranée de Bastia in France.

About The Tower:
The Tower follows Wardi, an eleven-year-old Palestinian girl who lives with her whole family in the refugee camp where she was born. She learns about her family's history through stories told to her by three earlier generations of refugees.

An animation feature film directed and written by Mats Grorud, The Tower features the voices of Romina Adl Kasravi, Mohamed Bakri, Najila Said, and Morad Hassan. The film is a French-Swedish-Norwegian co-production that is distributed in the Arab world by MAD Solutions.

The Tower received the Liv Ullmann Peace Prize and the Professional Jury: 2nd Prize for Best Animated Feature Film at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival. The film took part in the Cairo International Film Festival, Marrakech International Film Festival, London Palestine Film Festival, Palestine Cinema Days, Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France, and Festival du Film Arabe de Fameck in France.

About Dreamaway:

Representing freedom and easy cash, Sharm El Sheikh has long been a dream destination for Egyptian youth. Recently, terror attacks have brought tourism in the resort town to a halt. Dreamaway follows a group of young employees of a luxury hotel compound, where clichés and stereotypes of Western and Oriental cultures clash. This carousel-like experience elevates the youths into a dreamlike state.

Directed by Marouan Omara and Johanna Domke, Dreamaway is produced by Roman Roitman, (Monokel/Germany), Mark Lotfy (Fig Leaf Studio/Egypt) and Arne Birkenstock (Fruitmarket Kultur und Medien/Germany). MAD Solutions handles the film's distribution in the Arab world.

The film won the Bronze Prize for Best Artistic Contribution at the Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF). Dreamaway landed its world premiere at the 53rd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, and had its Arab world premiere at the El Gouna Film Festival within its Official Competition. The filmtook part in the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) and BFI London Film Festival, along with other international film festivals.

About Before We Heal:

The short film follows Saleem and Raya who meet at Raya's place. Saleem enters the toilet and somehow gets stuck. Between the inside and the outside, trials and disappointments, laughter and hope, memories and screams, are all being shared at the doorstep.

Written and directed by Nadim Hobeika, Before We Heal stars Yumna Marwan, Mohammad Bsat and Elie Njeim. The film's crew includes Cinematographer Céline Layous, Editor Nathalie Rbeiz, and Composer Jean Nassif. Before We Heal isdistributed in the Arab world by MAD Solutions.

The film received a Special Mention for Best Female Performance at the 2nd Beirut Women International Film Festival (BWFF) and took part in the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), Carthage Film Festival (JCC),and was screened in its homeland Lebanon at the Lebanese Film Festival (LFF). The film world premiered at the Aegean Film Festival in Greece, and took part in the Arab Film Festival (AFF) in California, USA.