My Love Awaits Me By the Sea Part of the 17th Ismailia International Film Festival For Documentary and Shorts

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After Participating in 7 Festivals and Film Events across the World

My Love Awaits Me By the Sea Part of the 17th Ismailia International Film Festival For Documentary and Shorts


Producer Rula Nasser announced that her film production My Love Awaits Me by the Sea, by Jordanian/Palestinian director Mais Darwazah, will participate in the 17th Ismailia International Film For Documentary and Shorts, which is set to be held during 3-8 June, 2014, within the Short Documentary Films Competition.
Currently, My Love Awaits Me By the Sea is taking part in the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival in Australia as it will be screened on May 19th, 2014 at 5:30 pm at The Australian Film Institute.

The film had its world premiere in Toronto International Film Festival in September, 2013, and then in November, the film participated in Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival (CPH:Dox). In December, 2013, My Love Awaits Me by the Sea took part in the Muhr Arab Documentary Award at the 10th Dubai International Film Festival, besides it competed in the official competition of L'europe Autour de L'Europe of which the ninth edition has ended last month.

My Love Awaits Me By the Sea has participated in several film festivals across the world including Istanbul International Film Festival, as part of the Human Rights in Cinema section, Tempo Film Festival in Sweden, Aflam Mareille, Cologne International Women's Film Festival, Planet + Doc Film Festival in Warsaw, Poland, Human Rights Arts and Film Festival in Australia and Flying Broom Film Festival, Ankara.

My Love Awaits Me by the Sea is Mais Darwazah's first feature-length documentary which is inspired by the artist and writer Hasan Hourani's wondrous reveries, this poetic, first-person essay chronicles filmmaker Mais Darwazah's first-ever visit to her homeland, Palestine. Fairytale and reality are woven together to ask the question of "How do you return to a place that only exists in your mind?", "How do you keep fighting for life when you're surrounded by so much death?", "How can you continue believing in a dream when the outside world lives another reality?" And "how can you own your version of the truth when history has taken it from you?"

My Love Awaits Me by the Sea pays tribute to Hassan Hourani, a Palestinian artist who, with his imagination, rises above the Israeli Occupation. Hourani completed 'Hassan is Everywhere', a children's book of illustration and poetry, just before his tragic death by drowning in the forbidden sea of Jaffa in 2003.

My Love Awaits Me by the Sea A Feature-Length Documentary

Director/Author: Mais Darwazah
Producer: Rula Nasser (The Imaginarium Films)
Co-producer: Michel Balague (Mengamuk Films)
Creative Consultant: Hala Alabdalla
Cinematographer: Arlette Girardot, Joude Gorani
Editor: Vartan Avakian
Composer: Cynthia Zaven
Country: Jordan, Germany, Palestine and Qatar
Year: 2013
Language: Arabic dialogue with English subtitles
Colour
Running time: 80 min

About the Director | Having worked across the Middle East in architecture, graphic design and television documentaries, Mais Darwazah's independent film career started by making short experimental films; It Wasn't a Question of Olives (1', 2001), The Human Puppet (10', 2005), Still Waiting (3', 2007) and Aisha'sJourney (8', 2009). After finishing her undergraduate degree in Interior Architecture from Kingston University (UK, 1997), she received the Chevening scholarship from the British Council, completing an MA in Documentary Directing at Edinburgh College of Art (UK, 2007). Her graduation film Take Me Home (54', 2008), was screened in more than 20 international film festivals. As part of an Arab feature documentary collective entitled Family Albums she completed The Dinner (25', 2012), which was co-produced with ARTE France and received the Special Mention audience award at Cinemed, 2012. She works and resides in Jordan.

About the Producer | The Imaginarium Films is a Jordanian production company established by Rula Nasser in 2010 with a vision to develop and produce and Arabic appealing content. Nasser's involvement in the film industry started 1999, working on several productions for BBC and The discovery channel, as well as the well-known Australian television series "Survivor", she Joined the Royal Film Commission of Jordan and worked with them for five years on their Filmmaker's Support Program.
Having built this vast experience in various areas of production enabled Nasser to produce more than four features in the last two years, which have participated in several prestigious festivals around the world. The Last Friday was the first Jordanian film to screen at Berlinale 2011 and Waiting for P.O.Box was in the
official competition in the Cannes short International Film competition
2012.She was chosen by Variety magazine in 2012, as one of the Top Ten Arab producers to watch.