Palestinian film Between Heaven and Earth by Director Najwa Najjar is now available on Shahid VIP. This comes after the massive success of the film following its release in Zawya Cinema in Egypt, where it screened for months. The film is slated to release in further Arab countries soon.

Upon its release, the film was praised by several critics, including Ken Loach who commented on the film saying: “Intriguing, central performances are touching… a really strong film.” It was also described by Hollywood Reporter as: “Contemporary, fresh eye to the visuals.”, while Screen Daily’s referred to as: “Crowd-pleaser”.

The film has garnered several awards at international festivals, including the Naguib Mahfouz Award for Best Screenplay, during the last edition of Cairo International Film Festival, Best Feature Audience Award at Boston Palestine Film Festival, and Best Male Performance at Mostra di Valencia Film Festival and Audience Award at Middle East Now Film Festival Florence. Also, Between Heaven and Earth took part in a number of prestigious festivals: London Palestine Film Festival, Toronto Palestine Film Festival, and Malmo Arab Film Festival, to name a few.

A thirty-something couple, Salma and Tamer, have been married for the past five years and living in the Palestinian Territory. The first time Tamer is ever given a three-day permit to cross the Israeli checkpoint, is to file for divorce in the courts in Nazareth. At the courthouse, they are confronted with a staggering discovery about the past of Tamer’s father; a secret which sends Salma and Tamer spinning on an emotional road trip exploring the loss and betrayal of the past, and of themselves.

Written and directed by Palestinian filmmaker Najwa Najjar, the film is produced by Ustura Films, in co-production with Paul Thiltges Distributions (Luxembourg) and Oktober Films (Iceland). MAD Solutions handles the film’s Arab world distribution.

Najwa Najjar is a Palestinian writer/director. She received her BA in Political Science and Economy, and her MA in Film and Video Production (USA). Since 2000, she has worked on both documentary and feature films. In 2009, she directed her award-winning critically acclaimed debut feature film Pomegranates and Myrrh (2009), followed by her second award winning film: Eyes of a Thief (2014), which earned the award for Best Actor at the Cairo International Film Festival and was Palestine's official submission for the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film category in 2015 and the Golden Globe Awards. Between Heaven and Earth is her latest project.

Najwa has also given several Directors’ Masterclasses and was on several international film festival Juries, as well as a reader for the Rawi Sundance Lab for Arab scriptwriters and an advisor for the Rawi Sundance Scriptwriters’ Lab.