Kazim Fayed’s YUSIF to release limitedly in Jordan

release date February 09 2023

Kazim Fayed’s psychological thriller YUSIF is to be released limitedly in Jordan. The film will be screened on February 4th and 7th at the Rainbow Theater. Additionally, it will be aired on ART Aflam 1 channel on Sunday, February 19th at 8 pm Cairo time.

Prior to that, YUSIF was commercially released in Lebanon last November.

The film follows Yusif, who aims to defy death itself. Ironically, a crime needs to take place in order to be able to save the life of his younger brother. Surfing between two realities, this psychological thriller delves deep into the dark underworld of arms dealing in Lebanon.

YUSIF was critically acclaimed with Nahed Salah stating, “Fayed portrayed his feelings of love, fury, and grief, painting it with strong emotions and relying on a specific image that strengthens the story and its style, which mixes fact and fiction.” While Mohamed Reda said, “Kazim Fayad’s debut film is exceptional and unique in the Lebanese cinema industry.”

YUSIF was screened at the Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) in the US, where it won the Special Jury Award. It also featured at the Alexandria Film Festival for Mediterranean Countries in Egypt, where it garnered the Best First Feature Award. Moreover, it was part of the International Oriental Film Festival of Geneva (FIFOG) in Switzerland and the Dhaka International Film Festival in Bangladesh.

The film is directed by Kazim Fayad, who also co-wrote the script with Houssein Haidar and Ali Mansour, and stars Houssein Haidar, Fayez Kazak, Khitam Al Lahham, Wissam Sabbagh, Hassan Farhat, and Mohamad Fouani. Furthermore, it was produced by Blue House Films.

Kazim Fayad is a Beirut-born Lebanese filmmaker, writer, and producer. He co-wrote YUSIF with Houssein after graduating from the school of communication arts and filmmaking and working on several short fiction films. In addition to YUISF, Kazim worked on almost 12 short films.

He developed the film’s plot following the death of his best friend. The loss of Kazim's friend caused him to suffer from "DCR", a condition in which a person’s dreams become so vivid that it is impossible to distinguish between reality and dreams.