Daughters Of Abdul-Rahman had a full house Screening at San Diego Arab Film Festival in USA

release date March 23 2022

Zaid Abu Hamdan’s feature film ‘Daughters Of Abdul-Rahman,’ had a full house screening at San Diego Arab Film Festival in the US, in the presence of director Zaid Abu Hamdan and leading actress Farah Bsaiso, after a long absence from the media.

The audience interacted with the film admirably throughout the screening, from start to finish.
The film received wide critical acclaim on both the Arab and international levels.

As The Film Verdict writer Jay Weissberg puts it, “The film is really enjoyable and the script is peppered with plenty of laughs and nice set pieces.” While film critic Ola El Shafie described the film in ElWatan News saying, “In Arab Cinema, it is rare to find a non-Egyptian film that generates so much laughter.” Furthermore, the CIFF newsletter described the film as, “A Heart-warming ode to sisterhood in all its colorful complexities.”

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 Abdul-Rahman stars Saba Mubarak, Farah Bsaiso, Hanan Al Hilo, Mariam Al Basha, Khalid Al Tarifi, Mohammed Al Jizawi, and Mohamed Bakri. It is produced by Pan East Media (Saba Mubarak & Aya Wuhoush), Lagoonie Film Production, and Arab Media Network. MAD Solutions handles the film’s distribution in the Arab world.

Recently, the film was featured at Beirut International Women Film Festival and at the first edition of Red Sea International Film Festival within the Red Sea: Arab Spectacular section. Also, it landed its world premiere at the 43rd edition of Cairo International Film Festival, where it won an award.

The film received multiple 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.

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.