Soudade Kaadan’s Syrian drama NEZOUH will be screening at Jordan’s Rainbow Theater for a limited time, scheduled for three screenings, with the first being on Thursday, February 8th at 7 pm, followed by two screenings on Sunday, February 11th and Wednesday, February 14th at 7 pm.
 
The film — which enjoyed a successful commercial release in Egypt and Qatar after world premiering 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 — recently snagged the Best Feature Film Award at the 10th Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth, where it headlined the festival’s Green Carpet segment.
 
NEZOUH also screened at Cairo Film Days along with the Tripoli, Amman, and Annaba Mediterranean film festivals, as well as the Panorama of Maghreb and Middle Eastern Cinema.
 
Additionally, the film has several impressive achievements under its belt, including winning the Amnesty International Award at the MedFilm Festival in Morocco, the Young Jury Award for Best Film at the Festival du Film Arabe de Fameck et Val de Fensch, a Special Mention at Cannes Cinéphiles, and a nomination 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.
 
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 stars renowned Syrian actress Kinda Alloush, Samir Al-Masri, Hala Zein, and Nizar Alani and is 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.
 
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 (IESAV) 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.
 
Netflix is also streaming three of her films — THE DAY I LOST MY SHADOW, AZIZA, and BREAD OF SIEGE — all of which are available to watch worldwide on the platform.
 
Soudade’s films shed light on the situation in Syria over the past decade, and have gone on to win dozens of international awards.