FARAH Wins Best Arab Film and Best Art Direction at Alexandria Mediterranean Countries Film Festival

release date October 12 2022

Marking another film festival win, the Lebanese film FARAH, directed by Hassiba & Kenton Freiha-Oxley, just won the Best Arab Film and Best Art Direction (Nazir Nassar and Moussa Baydoun) at the 38th Alexandria Mediterranean Countries Film Festival, Egypt (Oct. 5-10), where it competed in the festival’s Nour El Sherif Competition for Long Arabic Films.

The 38th edition of Alexandria Mediterranean Countries Film Festival, named for Egyptian veteran star Mahmoud Hemida, concluded last Monday in Alexandria, Egypt. The festival aims to spread film culture and bring together filmmakers from all over the world, particularly those from the Mediterranean region.

FARAH previously won Best Feature Film (Audience Poll) at Lebanese Film Festival Canada and world premiered at the Beirut International Women Film Festival, and also screened at the San Diego Arab Film Festival.

FARAH gained widespread critical acclaim and was described by critic Mohamed Hegazy as a film in which “the scenes flowed smoothly and spontaneously, and the characters showed their traits through a bright picture and a clear sound.”

The film follows Lina, a Lebanese pre-med student who starts experiencing severe recurring nightmares. Soon her life begins to crumble, and she is sent back home to Beirut. To help her recover, she is prescribed the controversial antidepressant ‘Xapa’, also known as the drug ‘Joy’.

However, as Lina’s terrifying nightmares worsen, a link between them and her biological mother, Farah, becomes clear. She sets out on a quest to uncover a web of family secrets that will lead her to a shattering, ultimate truth.

Written by Hassiba Freiha, who co-directed it with Kenton Oxley, FARAH stars Stephanie Atala, Majdi Machmouchi, Hassiba Freiha, and Youssef Boulos. The film is lensed by Elias Trad and edited by Marcus D’Arcy. MAD Solutions manages the distribution of the film across the Arab world.

Hassiba Freiha is a writer and filmmaker who has worked on various short films, including TEMPERANCE, which was screened at the Middle East International Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival’s Short Film Corner. An independent online platform later acquired the film’s distribution rights.

Hassiba also worked on the feature film CITY ISLAND with Andy Garcia and Alan Arkin and the National Wildlife Federation’s project “Campus Chillout” along with former Vice President Al Gore, Oscar-winning producer and philanthropist Jeff Skoll, and Oscar-winning producer Lawrence Bender.

Following these achievements, Hassiba co-produced, co-directed and starred in the short film WAHDON (ALONE), which screened at film festivals worldwide.

After acting in several short films, Hassiba was hired by twofour54 Abu Dhabi, a government-backed media services company, to join their post-production team as a booking manager. Soon after, she became the manager of the whole department. Meanwhile, Hassiba continued to hone her filmmaking skills and post-produced two feature films.

Kenton Oxley has carved a successful career in the television and film industry, and his work is globally recognized. As a producer and CEO of his own production services company, Knockout Production Services, Kenton worked on multi-million-dollar blockbuster projects. At the age of 20, he became the youngest ever director for ITV and worked for media-related government companies in Abu Dhabi and Malaysia. For six years, he headed the Production & Global Trade department at twofour 54. Kenton gained vast experience working on international projects such as Left Bank Pictures’ STRIKE BACK, TOP GEAR, and Bollywood blockbuster BANG BANG.