Amira by director
Mohamed Diab won a Special Mention of the Jury at the
Official Competition Narrative Feature Films of the 32
nd Carthage Film Festival (JCC) in Tunisia, which concluded its events Saturday night. This is the second time that director
Mohamed Diab’s nails an award from JCC. 5 years ago, his
Clash grabbed 3 awards at
Carthage Film Festival.
Moshira Farouk Bahar, Cultural and Theatrical Distribution Manager at MAD Solutions, which handles the film’s distribution across the Arab world, received the award.
Landing 3 screenings during the festival, Amira witnessed a wide attendance by audience, critics, and members of media, gaining a great critical acclaim.
It is worth mentioning that the film landed its Arab world premiere at
El Gouna Film Festival a few weeks ago
, where it witnessed a massive attendance by the audience and had two sold-out screenings. Previously winning three awards at
Venice International Film Festival,
Amira gained international acclaim from critics and audience alike, who applauded the film’s director, cast, and creators, and received a 7-minute standing ovation upon its world premiere at the festival.
The three awards are
Lanterna Magica Award, presented by
Cinecircoli Giovanili Socioculturali (CGS), Enrico Fulchignoni Award, presented by
Conseil International du Cinéma, de la Télévision et de la Communication Audiovisuelle (CICT-UNESCO), and 10th
INTERFILM Award for Promoting Interreligious Dialogue.
Amira, a 17-year-old Palestinian, was conceived with the smuggled sperm of her imprisoned father, Nawar. Although their relationship since birth has been restricted to prison visits, he remains her hero. His absence in her life is overcompensated with love and affection from those surrounding her. But when a failed attempt to conceive another child reveals Nawar’s infertility, Amira’s world turns upside down.
Amira features a stellar Pan-Arab cast, including
Saba Mubarak, Ali Suliman, and
Tara Abboud, who lands her first cinematic leading role as Amira, as well as
Kais Nashif and
Waleed Zuaiter. The film is written by the trio
Mohamed, Khaled, and
Sherine Diab and edited by
Ahmed Hafez who previously worked with
Mohamed Diab on
Clash film.
The film is produced by
Film Clinic (Mohamed Hefzy), Agora Audiovisuals (Mona Abdelwahab), Acamedia Pictures (Moez Masoud), in co- production with
Taher Media Production (Youssef El Taher) and
The Imaginarium Films (Rula Nasser). Also, Palestinian director
Hany Abu-Assad,
Amira Diab and
Sarah Gohar are the film’s producers,
Hisham El Araby is the executive producer, and
Daniel Ziskind is the associate producer
. The film has previously received fund from
The Royal Film Commission Jordan – RFC.
Pyramide Films is in charge of the international sales, and its marketing is handled by
MAD Solutions, which also handles the film’s distribution across the Arab world along with
Lagoonie Film Production.