MAD Solutions to feature 6 films at Berlin’s ALFILM Festival

release date April 25 2024

MAD Solutions’ is sending six short titles from its distribution slate to the 2024 edition of the ALFILM - Arab Film Festival in Berlin, scheduled to take place from April 24th to the 30th.

The lineup includes If THE SUN DROWNED INTO AN OCEAN OF CLOUDS, LES CHENILLES, MANITY, NO KEY, THE RED SEA MAKES ME WANNA CRY, and ZOO.

Leading the charge in the MAD lineup is Wissam Charaf’s new short IF THE SUN DROWNED INTO AN OCEAN OF CLOUDS, which will be screened twice —once on Thursday, April 25th, at 7 pm at Berlin’s City Kino Wedding Cinema, and again on Friday, April 26th, at 9 pm at Kino Arsenal Cinema as part of Shorts 2 Program titled ‘Those Who Remain.’

Set on the waterfront of a construction site in Beirut, Lebanon, the story follows Raed — a security guard who must prevent passers-by from accessing the shoreline.

Yet, as the horizon becomes more obscured with every passing day by the under-construction building, Raed begins finding himself in all manner of peculiar encounters — or maybe mere dreams and figments of his desires?

Next up is Michelle and Noel Keserwany’s Lebanese short film LES CHENILLES, which follows Asma and Sarah, two women originally from the Levant who find themselves working in the same restaurant in the city of Lyon, France, and still bear the weight of a home they were forced to leave behind.

Initially wary of each other, they gradually discover a common thread that binds them — one that dates back to when the Silk Road connected Lyon to their home countries. In the midst of forced migrations, can they move past their animosity to find solace in each other?

The film is scheduled for two screenings — the first on Thursday, April 25th, at 9 pm at Sinema Transtopia, and the second on Sunday, April 28th, at 7 pm at Wolf Kino.

Third in line is Hussen Ibraheem’s fiction film MANITY, which will be featured twice, with screenings on Saturday, April 27th, at 9 pm at City Kino Wedding Cinema and on Monday, April 29th, at 9:30 pm at CineStar Kino in der KulturBrauerei Cinema as part of the Shorts 1 Program titled ‘A Different Tomorrow.’

The movie follows Firas — an 11-year-old boy — who accompanies his father Tayseer and his father's friend Rayan on a bird-hunting jaunt in the Lebanese mountainside. What is supposed to be a calm hunting trip turns into an unforgettable experience.

After that, Walid Messnaoui’s NO KEY— which world premiered at the Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival—will be screened as part of the same program on Saturday, April 27th, at 9 pm at City Kino Wedding Cinema and on Monday, April 29th, at 7:30 pm at CineStar Kino in der KulturBrauerei cinema.

Then, Faris Alrjoob’s short THE RED SEA MAKES ME WANNA CRY, which follows a haunted Ida, who travels to the liminal site of her partner’s disappearance in an attempt to feel his presence one last time and to say goodbye.

The German-Jordanian short — which will be featured as part of the festival’s Shorts 2 Program —will be screened twice; the first on Thursday, April 25th, at 7 pm at City Kino Wedding Cinema and the second on Friday, April 26th, at 9 pm at Kino Arsenal Cinema.

Last but not least is Tariq Rimawi’s animation ZOO, which follows Sami, who wanders through the worst zoo in the world while looking for his ball, and then crosses paths with a little tiger named Laziz, who follows him on his quest to find a safe place to play. Against all odds, they become friends. But the remnants of war harbor danger.

ZOO will be featured as part of the festival's Shorts 2 Program, with screenings on Thursday, April 25th, at 7 pm at City Kino Wedding Cinema and on Friday, April 26th, at 9 pm at Kino Arsenal cinema.