Bassel Ghandour’s THE ALLEYS Releases in UAE Theaters

release date October 03 2022

THE ALLEYS, directed by Bassel Ghandour, will be released in UAE theaters starting October 6th. It will be screened at VOX cinemas in Mall of Emirates (Dubai), Cine Royal Dalma Mall and Ciny Royal Deerfields Mall (Abu Dhabi), as part of MAD Solutions' release plan in the Arab World. It also opens Arab Cinema Week at Cinema Akil, UAE, from October 7th till 16th. The company has recently released THE ALLEYS in its home country Jordan, following its screening in 21 theaters in Saudi Arabia, and soon in more Arab countries.

The film received the Audience Award and Special Mention at Sweden's Malmo Arab Film Festival and the Grand Prix du Jury at the Annonay Film Festival. THE ALLEYS was nominated for four Critics Awards for Arab Films, presented by Arab Cinema Center during the 75th Cannes Film Festival.

The film gained wide critical acclaim and was praised by international press such as Screen Daily, and PopMatters, among others, which described it as fascinating, impressive, epic, and exciting. The Arab newspapers praise the film as well.
"Jordanian film The Alleys boldly tackles social dilemmas within the context of a harsh realistic environment," wrote Critic Khaled Sameh.

While for critic Ola Al-Sheikh, the actors were outstanding. "There are many characters in Ghandour's alley, played by actors who have proven that they are up to the challenge: Munther Rayahneh, Maisa Abd Elhadi, Emad Azmi, and Baraka Rahmani, with Nadira Omran and Nadeem Rimawi," she wrote.

THE ALLEYS joined dozens of international film festivals, including the Locarno, Rotterdam, and the BFI London Film Festival. The film also had its Arab premiere at the Red Sea International Film Festival.

The story is set in East Amman's gossip-ridden, hazardous neighborhood, where a young hustler will go to any length to be with his hidden sweetheart, but her merciless mother will not allow it. When an extortionist catches the couple in the act, the mother seeks the assistance of a gangster to put an end to it all... but things don't go as planned.
The film project of THE ALLEYS received the Works in Progress Post-Production Development Award of the Eastern Promises program at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic. Furthermore, it won two awards for films in post-production at the Cairo Film Connection, the co-financing platform of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF). It received support from The Jordan Film Fund of the Royal Film Commission, Doha Film Institute (Qatar), and the Red Sea International Film Festival (KSA).

During the development phase, the film was supported by EAVE Producers Workshop, Rawi Screenwriters lab, Dubai Film Connection, and The Sorfond Pitching Forum, which The Norwegian South Film Fund organizes.

THE ALLEYS is written and directed by Bassel Ghandour and stars Emad Azmi, Baraka Rahmani, Munther Rayahneh, Maisa Abd Elhadi, Nadira Omran, and Nadim Rimawi. The film is produced by The Imaginarium Films (Rula Nasser), Bayt Al Shawareb (Yousef Abed Al-Nabi), and co-produced by Lagoonie Film Production (Shahinaz El Akkad). MAD Solutions manages the film’s distribution across the Arab World, while Elle Driver (France) manages the international sales.

The ALLEYS is Bassel Ghandour's directorial debut. Previously he co-wrote and produced Theeb, which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards and the BAFTAs. It also won the BAFTA award for Outstanding British Debut in 2016.