The Parrot Lands World Premiere at the Muhr Short Competition in DIFF

Back to Press Releases

The Festival's Red Carpet Welcomes the Film's Cast and Crew

The Parrot Lands World Premiere at the Muhr Short Competition in DIFF


Starting its tour in international festivals, the short film The Parrot will be having its world premiere at the 13th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) (December 7-14, 2016) competing in the Muhr Short competition of the festival with the attendance of its stars Hend Sabry and Eyad Hourani. The film's official trailer was released in parallel with its participation at the festival.

During its opening night, the DIFF's red carpet welcomed The Parrot's crew, its directors Darin Sallam and Amjad Al-Rasheed, producers Deema Azar and Roman Roitman, and line producer Ayah Jardaneh.

Hend Sabry's participation in the film comes as part of her tangible efforts in supporting young filmmakers. Coming from her sense of compassion, she has also revealed that her proceeds will be donated to the Syrian refugees in the Arab region.

The Parrot marks Sabry's third participation in the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), after Ahla El Awkat (Best of Times) (2004) and Sabah el Fol (Rise and Shine) (2006). Moreover, Sabry has joined the jury for the 4th IWC Filmmaker Award at the 12th DIFF in 2015.

The Parrot is one of the film projects funded by the German Robert Bosch Stiftung Foundation, which funds the Best German-Arab film projects. The film that won the Best Short Film award earlier this year is co-produced by the German Foundation and Royal Film Commission-Jordan, and will be distributed in the Arab world by MAD Solutions.

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. The film stars Hend Sabry, Ashraf Barhoum, Yasmine Ben Amara, Eyad Hourani, Firas Taybeh, Lara Sawalha, and Ahmad Al-Madani, and written by Amjad Al Rasheed, Darin Sallam, and Rifqi Assaf.

The Parrot is the 4th short film starring Sabry; previously she collaborated with young directors in their shorts, namely; Sherif El Bendary's Rise and Shine, which screened in 75 festivals across more than 33 countries, the award-winning short Day and Night by Islam Azzazi, which took part in many festivals and won several awards, and the Tunisian film One Evening in July by Rajaa Amari.

Darin Sallam is a Jordanian filmmaker who holds a BA in Graphic Design and received her MFA degree from the Red Sea Institute for Cinematic Arts (RSICA) in 2012. Darin made four award-winning shorts including the four-minute film Still Alive, which was the first Jordanian film to screen at the Short Film Corner of the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival in 2010, and The Dark Outside, which screened at many eminent international film festivals like the Carthage Film Festival and the Short Film Corner of the Cannes International Film Festival in 2013.

Amjad Al-Rasheed is an award-winning Jordanian director and producer. He received his MFA degree from the Red Sea Institute for Cinematic Arts (RSICA). After attending many filmmaking workshops, Amjad started his career as a director, producer and production designer of some shorts and feature films.

In 2007, Amjad was selected to attend the Berlinale Talents networking platform at the
57th Berlin International Film Festival. In 2013, Amjad directed the TV show The Rania Show (2013), which is considered as one of the most popular comedy shows in Jordan.

Screening Times and Venues of The Parrot at the Dubai International Film Festival (GMT+4)

Saturday, December 10, at 09:45 pm at VOX 03 Cinema at Mall of the Emirates
Monday, December 12, at 06:15 pm at VOX 05 Cinema at Mall of the Emirates