release date October 12 2022
SOULA Grabs 2 Awards at Alexandria Mediterranean Countries Film Festival
SOULA, the Algerian-French feature by Salah Issaad, raises its tally of international awards to 12. At the 38th Alexandria Mediterranean Countries Film Festival, SOULA won Best Film in the International Competition and the Ramses Marzouk Prize for Best Cinematography. The awards were announced during the festival's closing ceremony last Monday.
SOULA won the Black Iris Award for Best Arab Feature-Length Narrative at the 3rd edition of Amman International Film Festival – Awal Film. During its journey, it received 9 awards; the Golden award for Best Feature Film and a special mention for Best Actress (Soula Bahri) at the International Oriental Film Festival of Geneva; Best Feature Film and Best Actress (Soula Bahri) at Malmo Arab Film Festival in Sweden; Best Film at Beirut International Women Film Festival; Best Film at African Asian Latin American Film Festival in Milan; Best Film, Best Cinematography (Arthur Fanget) and The Don Quijote Award prize from the IFSS—International Federation of Film Societies at AVANCA Film Festival, Portugal. Moreover, it screened at Golden Apricot International Film Festival, Armenia; Tripoli Film Festival, Lebanon; and Casablanca Arab Film Festival, Morocco.
SOULA was previously commercially released in 7 Moroccan cities, as well as Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Algeria, and world premiered at the Red Sea International Film Festival.
SOULA is the story of a single mother expelled by her father, leaving her homeless with her baby. In search of a secure place to spend the night, Soula finds herself going from one car to another with other people. After a night of unfortunate events on Algerian roads, Soula tries her best to change her fate. However, fate has other plans.
Written, directed, and produced by Salah Issaad, SOULA is co-written by Soula Bahri, whose life story inspired the director to turn it into a film and cast Soula in the lead role. The film stars Soula Bahri, Idir Benaibouche, and Franck Yvrai. Issaad Film Productions (the three brothers, Taqi Eldin, Abdelghafour, and Salah Issaad) produced the film, while MAD Solutions manages marketing and distribution in the Arab world.
Salah Issaad is an Algerian director who grew up in a family of publishers. In 2008, he enrolled in Algeria's Law School of Batna after receiving a bachelor's degree (high school diploma) in Letters and Foreign Languages. He moved to France to complete his film studies at the University of Paris VIII for two years. After that, he attended the ARFIS audiovisual school in Lyon and then the Factory School in Villeurbanne, where he earned his filmmaking diploma.
SOULA is Issaad’s debut feature film, and in the past he has directed several short films. He is always eager to tell stories that value human relationships. Furthermore, he enjoys experimenting with various narrative styles and film genres, such as drama, tragedy, real-life stories, and comedy.
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