Four films from MAD Solutions’ distribution slate — NEZOUH by Soudade Kaadan; ALAM by Firas Khoury; LIFE SUITS ME WELL by Al Hadi Ulad-Mohand; and DIRTY, DIFFICULT, DANGEROUS by Wissam Charaf — are set to be screened at the 18th Panorama of Maghreb and Middle Eastern Cinema, which is running from March 10th to the 21st.
 
Here’s a more detailed look at these four MAD films:
First on the roster is NEZOUH, which will screen at Cinéma L’écran, Saint-Denis, on March 17th at 8 pm.
 
The film takes place against the backdrop of the Syrian civil war, where a missile destroys the ceiling of the house of 14-year-old Zeina. As a result, she sleeps for the first time under the stars and makes friends with Amer (Nizar Alani) — the boy next door.
 
When the violence escalates, Hala (Kinda Alloush) — Zeina's mother — decides to leave, getting into an argument with her husband, Motaz (Samer Al-Masri), who refuses to become a refugee and tries everything to stop his family from leaving their house.
 
Shot in Turkey, NEZOUH is written and directed by Soudade Kaadan. It's produced by KAF Productions (Soudade Kaadan) and Berkeley Media Group (Yu-Fai Suen) in association with Ex Nihilo (Marc Bordure).
 
The film stars Kinda Alloush, Samer Al-Masri, Hala Zein, Nizar Alani, and Darina Al-Joundi, and is lensed by prominent cinematographer Hélène Louvart.
 
Next up is ALAM, which will screen at Cinéma L’écran, Saint-Denis, on March 18th at 8:30 pm.
 
ALAM follows Tamer and his friends, who lead typical teenage lives until one day, Tamer is swept off his feet by the arrival of the beautiful Maysaa. As he grows closer to her, he agrees to take part in a mysterious and life-changing operation dubbed ‘Alam.’
 
The film is written and directed by Firas Khoury and stars  Mahmood Bakri, Sereen Khass, Saleh Bakri, Mohammad Karaki, Ahmad Zaghmouri, and Muhammad Abed Elrahman.
 
Third in the line-up is DIRTY, DIFFICULT, DANGEROUS, which is expected to screen at Cinéma L’écran, Saint-Denis, on March 19th at 6:30 pm.
 
The film is a social drama with fantastical elements that follows Ahmed — a Syrian refugee roaming the streets of Beirut searching for metal objects to be recycled — who thought he’d find love with Mehdia, an Ethiopian expat. However, in this city, such a story seems almost impossible.
 
Directed by Wissam Charaf — who co-wrote it with Hala Dabaji and Mariette Désert — the film stars Clara Couturet, Ziad Jallad, Rifaat Tarabay, and Darina Al-Joundi.
 
Finally, LIFE SUITS ME WELL will be screening at the Arab World Institute in Paris, on March 21st at 08:00 pm.
 
LIFE SUITS ME WELL is set in the mid-1990s in a small town in the north of Morocco, where Fouad is the only local post office employee. When he is stricken with a neurological disease, his life changes, and a new life begins for Fouad, his wife, and their children.
 
Their home will be filled with love, sorrow, and memories. While Fouad is slowly dying, his family members rediscover themselves. As time goes by, the wounds begin to surface, but the desire to live is inextinguishable.
 
Written and directed by Al Hadi Ulad-Mohand,  produced by Kasbah Films (Karim Debbagh), the film stars Samir Guesmi, Lubna Azabal, Sayyid El Alami, and Jalal Quarrioua.