SALMA’S HOME awarded Best Feature Film at Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival in America

release date August 29 2022

Jordanian film SALAM’S HOME by Hanadi Elyan received Best Feature Film Global Vision Award at Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival in San Jose, California, the Film is described by the festival’s administration as; “Powerful, impressive and affectionate ”. The film had four successful screenings among the events in Silicon Valley, Home of giant technology. Companies such as Google, Apple and Netflix. The film was also screened two weeks prior at the Arab Film Festival at The Arab American National Museum in Michigan with more American and International film festivals to be announced shortly.

Cinequest is a non-profit foundation that organises dozens of events throughout the year, including Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival which screens more than 300 films virtually or in theatres, most of which are world premieres or North American premieres. More than 2000 artists from 55 countries participate in its events in areas of creation.

SALMA’S HOME was released on Netflix Exclusively in the MENA region on July 7th and was ranked in the Netflix official Top 10 in Jordan for three successive weeks. Prior to its release on Netflix ,the Director held a private screening in Amman, Jordan, at Taj Cinemas in the presence of its cast and crew, as well as a number of film critics and prominent media figures.

The film received much critical acclaim both in the Arab world and worldwide. Critic Ola Al-Sheikh via Raseef22 explained that, “The film’s power lies in making the audience feel that they know the characters closely and can relate to them”. Cincecentric website wrote that, "Her film is a story of family, grief, and solidarity ” while noting that Hanadi Elyan is skilled to the extent that while watching SALMA’S HOME you can’t tell it’s the director's debut feature film.

Emilie Black described the film on the Cinema Crazed website, as " a carefully crafted drama that feels like home." While Randy Myers, of The Mercury News, praised the film saying, "A delightful debut feature from Palestinian-Jordanian filmmaker Hanadi Elyan that offers a refreshing, humorous and heartfelt take on the bonds and relationships between three generations of Arab women."

SALMA’S HOME is set in Jordan and revolves around three women with distinct personalities. Salma (Juliet Awad) is a talented baker living alone in a large old house overlooking downtown Amman running a nonprofitable home-based bakery, her daughter Farah (Sameera Asir) is a young working mother with marital problems with husband Malek (Firas Taybeh).

Their lives are disrupted by the death of Salma’s ex-husband. The funeral takes place at his current wife’s house, Lamia (Rania Kurdi), an aspiring socialite who is obsessed with social media. After the funeral, uncle Emad (Waleed Jizawi) brings shocking information to light leading to territorial clashes and finally forcing the three women to accept some harsh realities and take control of their lives.

Written and directed by Hanadi Elyan, the film stars Juliet Awad, Sameera Asir, Rania Kurdi and Firas Taybeh, produced by Reel LA Productions (producer Nathan Bennett). MAD Solutions handles the film’s distribution in the Arab world.

Writer/ director Hanadi Elyan, is a Palestinian-Jordanian filmmaker whose work focuses on the social issues facing marginalized communities from a female perspective. Hanadi's films competed in film festivals around the world. She started her film career in Jordan, then she moved to Dubai and established Reel Arab Productions. Later, she moved to Los Angeles after being selected for a full ride scholarship, where she earned her MFA in Film Production / Directing from UCLA.

Hanadi currently serves as Assistant Professor of Narrative Film Directing at Emerson College. She has previously won numerous funds and awards for her films, including Jordan Film Fund for SALMA’S HOME film and THE CAMP BEAUTY QUEEN screenplay, Hollywood Foreign Press Association Award, Delia Salvi Memorial award, Special Jury award at Tangiers Film Festival for Mariam's Chance in Morocco, George Burns and Gracie Allen Scholarship Fellowship in Comedy and The UCLA Directors Spotlight Award.