release date January 19 2015
Fallen Angels' Paradise Screens as Part of a Tribute for Lebleba at Luxor Egyptian and European Film Festival
Though Fallen Angels Paradise was released 15 years ago and received multiple awards and accolades globally, placing its makers on the map of important filmmakers in the Arab world, Oussama Fawzy's film is still grabbing the attention of festivals till nowadays. The film is selected to screen at the 3rd Luxor Egyptian and European Film Festival (24 - 31 January, 2015) as part of a tribute to veteran actress Lebleba.
Produced by AlBatrik Art Production, Fallen Angels' Paradise stars Mahmoud Hemeida, Lebleba and fresh faces at that time Amr Waked, Sari El Nagar, Saleh Fahmi and Caroline Khalil. The film is a free adaptation of Brazilian author Jorge Amado's novel The Man Who Died Twice and the screenplay was written by Moustafa Zekri. A black comedy, Fallen Angels' Paradise starts with Tabl's death, a man who decided to leave his family and adopt a bohemian lifestyle along with a group of marginalized people. While his daughter is seeking to give a lavish funeral for her deceased father, his friends steal his corpse, paying tribute for the dead man in their own way.
Festival Participations and Awards of Fallen Angels' Paradise Worldwide:
- Production Award from Cairo International Film Festival in 1999
- The Golden Award at the Feature-length Competition within the 11th Damascus International Film Festival
- The 15th Alexandria International Film Festival: received the Grand Prize and Best Second Work Award, a Special Jury Prize, Best Cinematography for Tarek El-Telmisany, Best Screenplay award at Panorama of the Egyptian Cinema and earned its young stars several awards
- Best Actor award for Hemeida from Festival International Cinéma Méditerranéen Tétouan in 2003
- The 6th Egyptian National Film Festival: Best Director award, Best Actor award (Hemeida), Best Cinematography, Best Supporting Actress (Caroline Khalil), Best Editing (Khaled Mar'ei) and Best Musical Score (Fathi Salama)
- The film took part in Marche du Film at Cannes Film Festival; screened at Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland, San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain and Beirut International Film Festival
Founded in 1995 by Egyptian actor Mahmoud Hemeida, AlBatrik Art Production is the first independent production company in Egypt. The company's main goal is to support Arab filmmakers and to contribute in the growth and development of filmmaking in Egypt. AlBatrik's production debut was Gamal Abdel Nasser (1998). Starring Khaled El Sawy in his first leading role, the film follows the life of the late Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. In 1999, AlBatrik produced Fallen Angels' Paradise, followed by the feature-length documentary Nazk Al Malae'ka (2000), which is about the renowned Iraqi poet and the feature-length documentary Living Skin (2010) by Ahmed Fawzy Saleh. Regarded as the first Egyptian documentary to be sold on DVDs, Living Skin has won several awards at international film events. AlBatrik also coproduced Malek Wa Ketaba in 2005, which starred Mahmoud Hemeida, Hend Sabry and Khaled Abol Naga.
In 1996, the company contributed in the formation of the Actor's Studio that supports young talents by giving out acting workshops conducted by professional filmmakers.
In 1997, Mahmoud Hemeida released a monthly magazine specialized in the art of cinema under the name Seventh Art which has become an importantly indispensable cinematic archive for cinephiles and filmmakers in the Arab world.
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