Director Mohamed Ben Attia's Tunisian film Hedi has been selected to screen as part of the Festival NEXT, held at the Lebanese American University - LAU in Beirut. Taking place on Friday, May 11 at 5:00 PM at the Irwin Theater, LAU Beirut campus, the screening will be attended by the film's lead actor Majd Mastoura, whowillalsoattend a Q&A session after the screening.

Building on the history of LAU's International University Theatre Festival and continuing its legacy, the Communication Arts Department's reinvented Festival NEXT to create an interdisciplinary space for innovative, avant-garde, and experimental performing and communicative arts. The festival aims to encompass all strands of communication and connect the department and university with Lebanese and Arab schools, universities, performing artists and communication professionals.

Hedi follows Hedi, a young man of few words who doesn't expect much from the future and lets others make his big decisions for him. His mother is preparing his marriage to Khadija, but two days before that; Hedi meets Rim in the city of Mahdia, who captivates him by her free-spirit, and he finds himself obsessed with this new-born passion. The film stars Majd Mastoura, Rym Ben Messaoud, and Sabah Bouzouita.

Hedi is written and directed by Mohamed Ben Attia, and co-produced by Dora Bouchoucha, Nadim Cheikhrouha, along with Belgian producers and directors, the brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne (Two Days, One Night), while the film's distribution in the Arab world is handled by MAD Solutions.

Hedi has been to many international festivals and won several awards. Director Mohamed Ben Attia won the Best First Feature Award, and lead actor Majd Mastoura won the Silver Berlin Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, as an unprecedented achievement for an Arab film at the festival. The film also won the Golden Athena Award for Best Picture at the Athens International Film Festival. Hedi's lead Mastoura won the Best Actor Award at the Critics Awards, offered by the Arab Cinema Center (ACC), and the Best Artistic Achievement Award at the Luxor African Film Festival. The film took part in over 20 international festivals including the BFI London Film Festival, Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), Cairo Cinema Days, Sudan Independent Film Festival (SIFF) and the Festival International du Cinéma Méditerranéen de Tétouan.

Screening Time of Hedi at the Festival NEXT at the Lebanese American University - LAU (GMT+3)
Friday, May 11, 5:00 PM at the Irwin Theater