Seven Films Distributed by MAD Solutions at the First Edition of the Elia Short Film Festival in Jerusalem

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Abraham| BONBONÉ| The Parrot| Five Boys and A Wheel| Ayny| Nocturne in Black| The Rifle, The Jackal, The Wolf and The Boy

Seven Films Distributed by MAD Solutions at the First Edition of the Elia Short Film Festival in Jerusalem


MAD Solutions sends seven short films from its distribution list to the first edition of the Elia Short Film Festival in Jerusalem. The MAD films are Abraham, BONBONÉ, The Parrot, Five Boys and A Wheel, Ayny, Nocturne in Black, and The Rifle, The Jackal, The Wolf and The Boy.

To be held from 13 to 15 September, the Elia Short Film Festival is organized by the We Have a Cinema initiative, in collaboration with cultural institutions and community centers that aim to revive the cultural scene in Jerusalem.

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. MAD Solutions is distributing the film through the Arab world.

About BONBONÉ

In less than 16 minutes, BONBONÉ follows 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) within the Short Cuts section. Written and directed by Rakan Mayasi, BONBONÉ stars Saleh Bakri, Rana Alamuddin and features Nadira Omran. BONBONÉ is produced by Groundglass235 in co-production with The Postoffice and Mad4Films, and in association with db Studios. MAD Solutions is responsible for distributing the film across the Arab world and Salaud Morisset is responsible of international sales.

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. MAD Solutions is responsible for distributing the film across the Arab world.

The Parrot had its world premiere at the 13th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) within the Muhr Short competition. The film is 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.

About Five Boys and A Wheel:

Set in Jordan, a young father has to help his son out of a petty conflict with the neighbors. As the parents of each respective family are summoned to discuss the issue at hand, the discussions begin to quickly spin out of control, putting the values of the father to test.

Five Boys and A Wheel stars Ali Suliman, Nadira Omran, and Haydar Kfoof, and is produced by Akram Al-Ashqar, Ahmad Khatib and the film's director Said Zagha. The film won the Golden Wahr Award at the Oran International Arabic Film Festival in Algeria and the Silver Palm award at the Mexico International Film Festival. The film landed its world premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) in its Muhr Short competition.

About Ayny:

Based on true events, Ayny follows two young boys who run away from their mother's protection and slack line on the danger of war to play music with the instrument they always dreamt to own. Ayny is written, directed, edited and voiced by Ahmad Saleh, music by Nizar Rohana, animated by Frank Pingel, DOP Lionel Poutiaire Somé, and produced by Stefan Gieren. The film is a co-production between Germany, Jordan and Palestine.

The film landed its world premiere in the Muhr Short competition of the 13th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). Ayny won several awards including the Best of the Best award at the 8th Zayed University Middle East Film Festival (ZUMEFF) in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Best Third Movie - Film Competition from Outside Iraq at the 2nd Qumrah International Film Festival in Iraq, Student Academy Award for Best Foreign Animation and the main award (Amarji Alsumaria) at the 2nd Amarji International Film Festival for Short Films in Al Najaf, Iraq.


About Nocturne in Black:

The film is inspired by an article about a Syrian young man who continues to play his piano under threat of persecution in the midst of his country's civil war and struggles to rebuild his piano after it is destroyed by terrorists. Written, edited and directed by Jimmy Keyrouz, Nocturne in Black stars Julian
Farhat, Tarek Yaacoub, Karim Zein and Rachid Salloum. The film is produced by Marc Fadel, Ellie Foumbi, Felecia Hunter and Jimmy Keyrouz.

Nocturne in Black landed its world premiere at the Columbia University Film Festival where it won the Jury Selects. In 2016, the film received a number of awards including; the Gold Medal at the 43rd Student Academy Awards, the Jury Award for Best Narrative Short Film at the Long Beach International Film Festival, the Marion Carter Green Award at the National Board of Review, the Gold Circle Award at the Caucus Foundation Award, the IFP Audience Award at the Independent Film Project, and the Best Director award at the NDU International Film Festival in Lebanon. Most recently, the film won the BIFF Award for Best Short Film at the Boulder International Film Festival, and the Live Action Film Award at the BAFTA Los Angeles Student Film Awards.

About The Rifle, The Jackal, The Wolf, and The Boy

Set in a mountain village in Lebanon, two brothers use their dad's rifle behind his back, unaware of the dire consequences of their action.

Written and directed by Oualid Mouaness, The Rifle, The Jackal, The Wolf, and The Boy stars Fidel Badran, Ali Mneimneh, Jad Badran, and Layal Ghanem. The film is produced by Jinana Chaaya and Oualid Mouaness and distributed in the Arab world by MAD Solutions.

The Rifle, The Jackal, The Wolf, and The Boy had four full-house screenings in Egypt, across Cairo and other governorates, as part of the Oscars Shorts Programme. Launched by MAD Solutions, the distributor of the film in the Arab world, the Oscars Shorts Programme includes five Arab short films from MAD Solutions' list of distribution films that made it or were nominated to the Oscars. The film was shortlisted for the 89th Academy Awards' Best Live-Action Short Film in 2017. The film toured more than 20 international film festivals and received the Special Jury Award at the Short To The Point International Short Film Festival.