EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaker also co-producing Dictynna Hood’s upcoming Trojan Women.

Annemarie Jacir

Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir has revealed details of her next feature Wajib, about an estranged father and son’s attempts to reconnect.

“It’s a dark comedy about the relationship between a father and son, who has returned home after a long absence,” said Jacir. “It will unfold against the course of one day in the city of Nazareth. It’s got dark humour.”

The filmmaker, whose credits include the award-winning When I Saw You and Salt of the Sea, is in Cannes talking to potential co-producing partners and sales companies.

Her long-term collaborator Ossama Bawardi is producing the film, under their joint Jordan-based Philistine Films banner.

Rising Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri, who starred in Salvo and is soon to be seen in Majid Al Ansari’s Zinzana, has signed to co-star.

It is the first time, Jacir, who hails from the West Bank town of Bethlehem, has homed in on the Palestinian population living within Israel’s borders.

“The film will also touch on the situation of Palestinians – the economic and social implications — but not in an overtly obvious way,” explained Jacir.

Trojan Women

Other projects on the Philistine slate include Dictynna Hood’s Trojan Women, a contemporary adaptation of Ancient Greek writer Euripides’ play about the impact of war on women.

The film has come out of a recent drama project involving Syrian women whose lives have been shattered by the civil war in their country.

Georgina Pajet of UK-based Refuge Productions is lead producing the feature. She previously made the related documentary Queens of Syria.

Palestinian actress Hiam Abbas and Egyptian star Amr Waked are set to star in the UK-Palestinian co-production.

“The film is not set anywhere specific. It revolves around women coping and surviving during a war,” explained Jacir.