MAD Solutions' distribution slate will be represented by five titles in the 2023 San Diego Arab Film Festival, which will be held from March 3rd to the 12th — four feature films and one short, all of which will be competing for the festival's Audience Award.
 
First in MAD Solutions' lineup is Firas Khoury's six-time-award-winning fiery drama ALAM, which won the 2022 Cairo International Film Festival’s (CIFF) top accolade — the Golden Pyramid Award for Best Film — along with the Best Actor Award for Palestinian actor Mahmood Bakri and Youssef Cherif Rizkallah's Audience Award. 
 
Firas Khoury's ALAM will be featured on Friday, March 3rd at 7:30 pm.
 
Next up is Maysoon Pachachi's Baghdad-set drama OUR RIVER...OUR SKY, which gained critical acclaim following its Arab world premiere at the 43rd CIFF. 
 
OUR RIVER...OUR SKY is set to be screened on Friday, March 10th at 7:30 pm
 
OUR RIVER...OUR SKY will be followed by Erige Sehiri’s Tunisian summer-harvest drama UNDER THE FIG TREES, which held its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes International Film Festival. The film is scheduled to be screened on Saturday, March 11th at 6 pm. 
 
Rounding off MAD Solutions' features at the San Diego Film Festival is Al-Hadi Ulad-Mohand’s award-winning feature film LIFE SUITS ME WELL. The multi-award-winning film will be screened on Sunday, March 12th at 5:30 pm.
 
Finally, the company will be featuring Ward Kayyal’s short flick, HAMZA: CHASING THE GHOST CHASING ME, on Friday, March 3rd at 7:30 pm.
 
To purchase tickets, visit the following website: https://sandiegoaff.org/ 
 
Learn more about MAD’s films at the San Diego Film Festival:
 
About ALAM:
Written and directed by Firas Khoury, ALAM — starring Mahmood Bakri, Sereen Khass, Saleh Bakri, Mohammad Karaki, Ahmad Zaghmouri, and Muhammad Abed Elrahman— follows the story of a Palestinian teenager named Tamer. 
 
Tamer and his friends lead typical teenage lives until one day, he is swept off his feet by the arrival of the beautiful Maysaa. As he grows closer to her, Tamer agrees to take part in a mysterious and life-changing operation dubbed ‘Alam.’
 
MAD Solutions manages the film’s distribution across the Arab world.
 
About OUR RIVER...OUR SKY:
Starring Darina Al-Joundi, Basim Hajar, Meriam Abbas, and renowned Iraqi actor Mahmoud Abo Al-Abbas, Our River...Our Sky is set in the last week of 2006, between two religious events Christmas and the Adha Eid, against a backdrop of ethnic bloodshed. It follows the stories of ordinary Iraqis trying to manage their daily lives in Baghdad in the face of unpredictable violent events that place them in danger.
 
The film is written by Maysoon Pachachi and Irada Al-Jubori. MAD Solutions is handling the film’s distribution across the Arab world. 
 
About UNDER THE FIG TREES:
Taking place over the course of a day among the trees, UNDER THE FIG TREES presents an intergenerational dialogue between a group of teens and older folk as they work the summer harvest, catch feelings, attempt to understand each other, and navigate the complicated terrain of building deeper ties.
 
Directed by Erige Sehiri and co-written by Ghalya Lacroix and Peggy Hamann, UNDER THE FIG TREES stars Fide Fdhili, Feten Fdhili, Ameni Fdhili, Samar Sifi, and Abdelhak Mrabti. 
 
The film is a joint production between Tunisia’s Henia Production, Switzerland’s Akka Films, and France’s Maneki Films. 
Frida Marzouk is the DOP and the film’s music is by Amine Bouhafa.
 
The movie is being distributed globally by Luxbox, while MAD Solutions is handling its distribution and marketing in the Arab world.
 
About LIFE SUITS ME WELL:
Written and directed by Al-Hadi Ulad-Mohand and produced by Kasbah Films (Karim Debbagh), LIFE SUITS ME WELL — which stars Samir Guesmi, Lubna Azabal, Sayyid El-Alami, and Jalal Quarrioua — takes place in the mid-1990s. 
 
The film follows Fouad who is the only employee at the local post office in a small town in northern Morocco. After he is diagnosed with a neurological disease, Fouad, his wife, and their children embark on a new chapter in their lives. 
 
In this new era, their home will be filled with love, sorrow, and memories. While Fouad slowly succumbs to his disease, his family members rediscover themselves. As time goes by, wounds begin to surface, but the desire to live is inextinguishable.
 
MAD Solutions handles the film’s distribution across the Arab world. 
 
About HAMZA: CHASING THE GHOST CHASING ME:
Directed by Ward Kayyal and written by Majd Kayyal, HAMZA: CHASING THE GHOST CHASING ME stars Kamel Al-Basha, Ruba Blal, Motaz Malhes, and Khulood Basel. 
 
The film follows Hamza, a middle-aged man, who refuses to abandon a routine he has kept since his release from Israeli jail, he goes into the woods every day to chase the lion that the locals don't think exists. 
 
Despite his wife's pleadings and the villagers' contempt, Hamza sets his baits and traps in the forest, hoping to defeat the mysterious threat. He finds refuge in his journey after each battle. 
 
In the woods, Hamza is free to act according to his beliefs, fighting his own battle to heal an open wound and confront horrific memories of torture and guilt. 
 
MAD Solutions manages the film’s marketing and distribution worldwide.