In response to public demand, Soudade Kaadan’s NEZOUH continues screening at Zawya for the second week in a row

release date September 06 2023

Soudade Kaadan’s Syrian feature NEZOUH, starring renowned Syrian actress Kinda Alloush, Samir Al-Masri, Hala Zein, and Nizar Alani, continues to screen at Cairo’s Zawya Cinema for the second week in a row in response to the popular demand for more screenings after the film was released commercially in Egypt on August 30th.

The film will be screening four more times at Zawya this week at:

Wednesday, September 6th at 4 pm

Friday, September 8th at 9:30 pm

Saturday, September 9th at 4 pm

Tuesday, September 12th at 7 pm

You can watch the film’s trailer here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzurNfLVHRM

NEZOUH takes place during the Syrian conflict, 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 — the boy next door.

When the violence escalates, Hala — Zeina's mother — decides to leave. She then gets into an argument with her husband, Motaz, who refuses to become a refugee and tries everything to stop his family from leaving their house.

Written and directed by Soudade Kaadan — who also co-produced it with Yu-Fai Suen — the film was shot in Turkey and produced by Berkeley Media Group Limited, KAF Production, and Agat Films & Cie, with worldwide distribution rights going to MK2 Films and Arab world sales handled by MAD Solutions.

NEZOH recently screened at the Cairo Film Days and witnessed a huge audience turnout. Kinda Alloush also made an appearance at the screening, which witnessed a significant turnout of media and public figures as well.

The film enjoyed a successful world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival — where it snagged an Orizzonti Extra Audience Award and became the first Arab film to win the award, as well as grabbing the Lanterna Magica Award from the Cinecircoli Giovanili Socioculturali.

NEZOUH was also featured in over 20 international film festivals, including the Busan, São Paulo, Tokyo, India, Singapore, Fribourg, Arab Women Artists Now - AWAN, Tournai Ramdam, Tetouan, Cinemamed, Tromsø, and Qisah film festivals.

It also featured at Mostra de València – Cinema Del Mediterrani, Girls on Film Awards, Madrid Films by Women, the Official Competition of the International Film Festival of India, and the Panorama of North African and Middle Eastern Films.

So far, the film has several impressive achievements under its belt, including winning the Amnesty International Award at the MedFilm Festival in Morocco and being nominated for Best Film at the BFI London Film Festival along with Best Effects and Best Lead Performance for Hala Zein at the British Independent Film Awards.

Born in France, Soudade Kaadan is a Syrian director who studied theater criticism at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts and graduated from the Institut des Etudes Scénique, Audiovisuelles, et Cinématographiques of Saint Joseph University in Lebanon.

Her first feature film, THE DAY I LOST MY SHADOW, won the Lion of the Future Award at the Orizzonti Competition of the Venice Film Festival and the Jury Prize at the LA Festival. Also, her short film AZIZA won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize in 2019.

Several months ago, Netflix began streaming three of Kaadan’s films — THE DAY I LOST MY SHADOW, AZIZA, and BREAD OF SIEGE — all of which shed light on the situation in Syria over the past decade and have gone on to win dozens of international awards.