MAD Solutions Sends Five Films to the Bristol Palestine Film Festival

Back to Press Releases

The Reports on Sarah and Saleem| Gaza Surf Club| The Parrot| BONBONÉ| A Drowning Man

MAD Solutions Sends Five Films to the Bristol Palestine Film Festival


MAD Solutions boasts five films at the eighth edition of the Bristol Palestine Film Festival in the UK (4 - 9 December). The five MAD films are; feature film The Reports on Sarah and Saleem by Muayad Alayan, documentary film Gaza Surf Club by Philip Gnadt and Mickey Yamine, and short films The Parrot by Darin J. Sallam and Amjad Al-Rasheed, BONBONÉ by Rakan Mayasi, and A Drowning Man by Mahdi Fleifel.

The Bristol Palestine Film Festival has been running since 2011. It takes place every December and showcases an exciting mix of Palestinian films, including documentaries, features and shorts, as well as music and arts events across a range of venues.

About The Reports on Sarah and Saleem:

The Reports on Sarah and Saleem is written by Rami Alayan and directed by Muayad Alayan. Set in Jerusalem, Sarah and Saleem are having an extramarital affair that ignites a dangerous game of deceit between those who hold power and those who don't.

The Reports on Sarah and Saleem had its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), where it won the Special Jury Award for Best Screenplay in the festival's Official Competition (Hivos Tiger), and the Audience Award (Hubert Bals). The film also screened at the European Film Market (EFM), held within the Berlin International Film Festival.

The Reports on Sarah and Saleem stars Maisa Abd Elhadi, Adeeb Safadi and Kamel El Basha. The film is a joint production between PalCine Productions in Palestine, in cooperation with KeyFilm in the Netherlands, Manderley Films GmbH in Germany, and Monofilms in Mexico. MAD Solutions handles the distribution of the film in the Arab world.

Friday, December 7, at 08:30 pm at The Watershed, Bristol

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. MAD Solutions handles the film's distribution in the Arab world.

Tuesday, December 4, at 07:30 pm at Palestine Museum & Cultural Centre


About The Parrot:

The Parrot tells the story of a Mizrahi Jewish family, who emigrate from Morocco, trying to settle into their new life in Haifa, Palestine in 1948. Directed by Darin J. Sallam and Amjad Al-Rasheed, the film stars Hend Sabry, Ashraf Barhoum, Yasmine Ben Amara, Eyad Hourani, Firas Taybeh, Lara Sawalha, and Ahmad Al-Madani, and written by Darin J. Sallam, Amjad Al-Rasheed, and Rifqi Assaf.

The Parrot had its world premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) within the Muhr Short competition. The film won the Jury Prize at the Malmo Arab Film Festival (MAFF) in Sweden. It was one of the film projects funded by the German Robert Bosch Stiftung Foundation, which funds the Best German-Arab film projects. The film received the 2015 Film Prize of RBS in the Short Fiction category. Most recently, the film won the Sunbird Award for Best Short Film at the Palestine Cinema Days.

Saturday, December 8, at 02:00 pm at Palestine Museum & Cultural Centre

About BONBONÉ

In less than 16 minutes, a Palestinian inmate serving time in an Israeli jail receives a visit from his wife who devises a bold and crafty operation to fulfill their secret desires.
BONBONÉ landed its world premiere at the 42nd Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where it competed in its Short Cuts competition.

Written and directed by Rakan Mayasi, BONBONÉ stars Saleh Bakri, Rana Alamuddin, Nadira Omran and Ziad Bakri. The filmis produced by Groundglass235 in co-production with The Postoffice and Mad4Films, in association with db Studios. MAD Solutions is responsible for distributing the film across the Arab world and Salaud Morisset is responsible for its international sales.

Saturday, December 8, at 02:00 pm at Palestine Museum & Cultural Centre

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, his life of exile grows one day longer.

A Drowning Man made its world premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival as the only Arab participation in the Short Film competition and screened within the Short Cuts competition of the Toronto International Film Festival.

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

Saturday, December 8, at 02:00 pm at Palestine Museum & Cultural Centre