DAUGHTERS OF ABDULRAHMAN Screens at Middle East Now Film Festival in Florence and Arab Film Festival in Germany

release date September 25 2022

DAUGHTERS OF ABDULRAHMAN by Zaid Abu Hamdan is set for a tour of screenings in Europe, where it will be screened in the 13th edition of the Middle East Now Film Festival, which will be hosted in Florence, Italy, from October 4th to 9th . The film will be screened in the presence of the director on Friday, October 7th at 9 p.m. Florence time (GMT +2). Also, DAUGHTERS OF ABDULRAHMAN will be exhibited during the 18th edition of the Arab Film Festival in Germany, which runs from October 6th to 15th.

This screening took place parallel to successful commercial screenings in the United Arab Emirates and Tunisia, which began in early September and is scheduled to continue until October. The film is also being screened in Jordanian cinemas for the eights week in a row, making it the first Jordanian film to screen that long in cinemas. Also, the film has been screened at Amman International Film Festival-Awal Film and was well received, and tickets were sold out as soon as they were announced. DAUGHTERS OF ABDULRAHMAN was released commercially in Saudi and Kuwaiti theatres and is set to be released shortly in Egypt and the rest of the Arab world.

The film received praise and critical acclaim during its tour, as newspapers wrote “A film that combines the freshness of the first experiences of director Zaid Abu Hamdan and the maturity of Saba Mubarak's acting performance and her sisters... And every story works for a feature film.” Also, others described it as “A film that resembles us.” Also, the CIFF newsletter described the film as, “A Heart-warming ode to sisterhood in all its colorful complexities.”

Previously, the film won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film (Golden Lynx Fiction) at FEST – New Directors /New Films Festival in Portugal and won the Audience Award at San Diego Arab Film Festival in USA. It world premiered at Cairo International Film Festival where it won the Audience Award and screened at Beirut International Women Film Festival and the first edition of Red Sea International Film Festival (Arab Spectacular Section). Also, it opened the Malmo Arab Film Festival in Sweden.

The film follows the storyline of Zainab who wakes up to a shocking discovery that could defame her in the neighborhood. She quickly calls for her sister’s aid. Yet, fiery Amaal has her own secret struggle and is not having her sister Samah, who is too busy to be there. Meanwhile, Khitam tries to focus on her own mission.

Written and directed by Zaid Abu Hamdan, DAUGHTERS OF ABDULRAHMAN stars Saba Mubarak, Farah Bsaiso, Hanan Al Hilo, Mariam Al Basha, and Khalid Al Tarifi. It is produced by Pan East Media (Saba Mubarak & Aya Wuhoush), Lagoonie Film Production, Wika Production and Distribution, and Arab Media Network. MAD Solutions handles the film’s distribution in the Arab world.

The film received several funds, including Doha Film Institute development fund, the Jordan Film Fund of the Royal Film Commission development and production funds, as well as a fund from CineGouna Platform (post-production) at El Gouna Film Festival. The film was also selected among the finalist projects at the Tribeca Film Festival - All Access program, and selected for RFC Rawi Screenwriters Lab.

Pan East Media is a Jordanian production house, established in 2011 by Saba Mubarak and Aya Wuhoush with a main objective to create authentic audio-visual content in Jordan and to present first-rate artistic work on both regional and international levels. In 2015, Saba moved the company's headquarters to the UAE and expanded the company's services to include cultural events management, talent management and entertainment production.

Moreover, the company aims to enrich the quality of the content delivered, and throughout the years it has created and developed several scenarios for both cinema and television.

Born and raised in Amman, Jordan, Zaid Abu Hamdan holds an MFA from the New York Film Academy in Hollywood California. Zaid started his career working on international TV shows as an Assistant Director and Producer, including E! Entertainment’s coverage of the Golden Globe and Academy Awards. In addition, Zaid worked as a television reporter for Middle East Broadcast Corporation group (MBC Group) in Hollywood. He also worked on directing reality and scripted shows such as Sesame Street, a competition that shows and mentors the Arab Film Studio program at Image Nation, Abu Dhabi. Since 2009, Zaid has written and directed five award-winning and audience-acclaimed short films, including Bahiya & Mahmoud, which was the official Jordanian submission to the Academy Awards in 2012.