MAD Solutions receives two nominations at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards

release date October 08 2023

MAD Solutions—the top film distributor in the Arabic-speaking world—has received nominations for two films from its distribution slate at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA), which is set to take place from November 1st to the 4th in Australia. The nominations are Best Youth Film for Muayad Alayan’s A HOUSE IN JERUSALEM and Best Performance for Amjad Al-Rasheed’s INSHALLAH A BOY.

About the films:
Palestinian drama feature A HOUSE IN JERUSALEM, directed by Muayad Alayan and co-written for the screen with his brother Rami Alayan, was just announced to be participating at The Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), where it’ll be holding its Arab world premiere as part of the CIFF’s Midnight's Screening section. This came hot on the heels of the exclusive MENA region release of the film’s poster by MAD Solutions.

A HOUSE IN JERUSALEM held its world premiere at the 2023 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) and was featured in several prestigious festivals worldwide, including Boston Palestine Film Festival and Seattle International Film Festival in the US, Mostra de Valencia—Cinema del Mediterrani in Spain, Athens Palestine Film Festival in Greece, Palestinian Film Festival in Australia, Arab World Film Festival, and the Seoul International Children's Film Festival.

Starring Johnny Harris, Makran Khoury, Souad Feres, Miley Locke, and Sheherazade Makhoul Farrell, A HOUSE IN JERUSALEM follows the story of young Rebecca, who is forced to move with her father from the UK to Jerusalem in the hopes that a new beginning can help her heal from her mother's sudden death.

Soon after settling into an old house in a neighborhood known as the Valley of the Ghosts, a series of mysterious events occur that Rebecca takes the blame for. Diving deep into the mystery of the house and the mystical city of Jerusalem, Rebecca sets out on an enigmatic journey to discover what hides in the shadows of the house.

The film was co-produced by PalCine Productions in Palestine, Wellington Films and Cocoon Film in the UK, Red Balloon Films and ZDF/ARTE in Germany, Metafora Production in Qatar, and KeyFilms in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, MAD Solutions is managing the distribution of the film in the Arab world, while Heretic manages it worldwide.

As for Amjad Al-Rasheed’s INSHALLAH A BOY—which is Jordan’s official submission for Best Foreign Film at the 96th Academy Awards—the Jordanian feature world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival's Critics Week—becoming the first ever Jordanian feature to do so—where it received the Gan Foundation Award and the Rail d'Or Award for Best Feature Film. Ever since then, INSHALLAH A BOY has been making waves on the festival circuit, winning Best Actress and a Jury Award at the Rotterdam Arab Film Festival, as well as the Women's Jury Award and the Grand Jury Award at the Paysages de Cinéastes.

The film also screened at the Karlovy Vary, Melbourne, Toronto, BFI London, Sydney, Hamburg, and New Zealand film festivals.

The drama follows the recently widowed Nawal, who has to save her daughter and home following her husband’s death in a society where having a son is a game changer.

Directed by Amjad Al-Rasheed and co-written by Delphine Agut and Rula Nasser, the film stars Mouna Hawa, Haitham Omari, Salwa Nakkara, Yumna Marwan, Mohammad Al-Jizawi, Islam Al-Awadi, and Celina Rabab'a.

INSHALLAH A BOY was produced by The Imaginarium Films (Rula Nasser and Aseel Abu Ayyash), with co-production by Bayt Al-Shawareb (Youssef Abdelnabi) and George Films (Raphaël Alexandre and Nicolas Leprêtre), and associate production by Alaa Karkouti, Maher Diab, and Shahinaz El-Akkad.

MAD Solutions and Lagoonie Film Production handle the film's distribution in the Arab world, while Pyramide International handles international sales.

This film marks Al-Rasheed's second collaboration with MAD, as the distribution giant handled marketing for his short film THE PARROT, which he co-directed.

The film went on to receive several international awards, including the Jury Award for Best Short Film at the Mizna's Twin Cities Arab Film Festival in the US and the Malmö Arab Film Festival. The film also held its world premiere at the 2016 Dubai International Film Festival and is available for streaming on OSN.