At the 1st Batroun Mediterranean Film Festival (BMFF) (September 7-10, 2017), MAD Solutions is going to screen four short films from among its distribution list. The short films are: Under the Robes by Lebanese director Michel Zarazir, Submarine by Mounia Akl, Ayny by Palestinian director Ahmad Saleh and Mare Nostrum by directors Rana Kazkaz and Anas Khalaf.

The festival specializes in screening short films from Mediterranean countries. The Batroun Mediterranean Film Festival (BMFF) is a lively cultural event that was launched in 2009 to attract local and international artists from all over the world. In its first edition this September, the festival is going to screen a selection of short films from the 21 Mediterranean countries.

About Under the Robes:

Under the Robes tells the story of Monsignor Isidore who pays a visit to an isolated convent in order to announce its closing down. During the visit, he steps on a landmine. Panic ensues and faith is tested.

Written and directed by Michel Zarazir, Under the Robes is produced by Gaby Zarazir and distributed by MAD Solutions in the Arab world. The film stars Manuel Daher, Yvonne El Haiby Nakad and Mona Abou Chabke Kheir. Taking part in more than 20 film festivals around the world, the film received nine awards including the Canal+ Short Film and Short Film Grand Prize - Special Mention awards at the Festival International du Cinéma Méditerranéen de Montpellier (CINEMED) in France, the Gold Mikeldi for Best Fiction Film at the International Documentary Film and Short Film Festival in Bilbao (ZINEBI) in Spain, Best Frist Film at the Lebanese Film Festival in Lebanon and Best Short Film at the European Film Festival in Lebanon.

About Submarine:

Submarine's world premiere was held at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016 and it also participated in the 41st Toronto International Film Festival, and most recently, the Long Beach International Film Festival (LBIFF), in addition to more than 20 international festivals around the world. The film won the Special Jury Prize in the Muhr Short competition at the 13th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). Under the imminent threat of Lebanon's garbage crisis, Hala, a wild child inside of a woman is the only one to refuse evacuation, clinging to whatever remains of home.

Produced by Cyril Aris and Jinane Chaaya, directed by Mounia Akl and distributed by MAD Solutions in the Arab world, Submarine stars Julian Farhat, Yumna Marwan, and Adel Chahine. The film was awarded the James Bridges production grant.

About Ayny:

Based on true events, Ayny follows two young boys who run away from their mother's protection and slack line on the danger of war to play music with the instrument they always dreamt to own. The film is written, directed, edited and voiced by Ahmad Saleh, music by Nizar Rohana, animated by Frank Pingel, cinematography by DOP Lionel Poutiaire Somé, produced by Stefan Gieren, and its Arab world distribution is handled by MAD Solutions. The film is a co-production between Germany, Jordan, and Palestine.

Ayny won several awards including the Best of the Best award at the 8th Zayed University Middle East Film Festival (ZUMEFF) in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Best Third Movie - Film Competition from Outside Iraq at the 2nd Qumrah International Film Festival in Iraq, Student Academy Award for Best Foreign Animation and the main award (Amarji Alsumaria) at the 2nd Amarji International Film Festival For Short Films in Al Najaf, Iraq. The film made its world premiere in the Muhr Short competition of the 13th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). Ayny was also screened at the Beirut Cinema Days, Sudan Independent Film Festival (SIFF), Animate. Ps (Palestine Animation Festival), ALFILM - Arab Film Festival Berlin, Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts, Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film, International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Festival Ciné-Palestine in Paris, and most recently, the Palm Springs International Shortfest in California.

About Mare Nostrum:

The film's events take place in 13 minutes on the shore of the Mediterranean, where a Syrian father and his little daughter flee the civil war in Syria, but the father makes a decision that could endanger his daughter's life. Directed by Rana Kazkaz and Anas Khalaf, and written by Kazkaz, Mare Nostrum stars Ziad Bakri and Zayn Khalaf. The film is a French Syrian Jordanian production.

Mare Nostrum made its world premiere at the Festival International du Cinéma Méditerranéen de Montpellier (CINEMED) in France in October 2016. The film won eight awards including the Best Short Film at the BBC Arabic Festival in London and the First Prize at the Rencontres du Cinéma Européen de Vannes (Vannes European Film Meetings) in France. The film also took part in the Muhr Short competition of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) in 2016, the short film competition of the Sundance Film Festival in 2017, the short film competition of the Sharm El-Sheikh Arab and European Film Festival and screened at the 1st Cairo Cinema Days.

Screening Times of MAD Solutions' Films at 1st Batroun Mediterranean Film Festival

Under the Robes: Thursday, September 7 at 08:00 pm
Ayny: Thursday, September 7 at 08:00 pm
Mare Nostrum: Friday, September 8 at 08:00 pm
Submarine: Saturday, September 9 at 08:00 pm