EXCLUSIVE: Jordanian producer Alaa Alasad, at Red Sea in competition with Zain Duraie’s Sink, is preparing to shoot films next summer with Palestine’s Ameen Nayfeh and Lebanese-Canadian director Lara Zeidan.
Jo of Montreal will mark the second feature of Nayfah, who was in Giornate degli Autori at Venice in 2020 with 200 Meters and went on to win a raft of festival and critics’ awards.
His follow-up is a coming-of-age drama set against the backdrop of a village threatened by commercial development. The story follows a spoilt 12-year-old gamer who is sent to a remote village, where he becomes captivated by an old Crusader-era castle and ultimately joins local efforts to protect the community’s heritage.
“The story is rooted in the geography and history of Shaubak village and the Montreal castle in southern Jordan, drawing on Nayfeh’s own childhood experiences and his relationship with his grandparents, and it will be shot on location there,” said Alasad.
The project is a joint production between Alasad’s Amman-based Tabi360 and his brother Bassam Alasad’s Dubai-based Creative Media Solutions, and is co-produced by Georg Neubert’s Leipzig-based Reynard Films. It previously secured development support from Film AlUla and the Red Sea Fund.
Zeidan will make her feature debut with Birthday. Set in May 2008, it follows a girl about to celebrate her 14th birthday in Beirut when gun battles erupt across the city.
Backed by the Jordan Film Fund, the feature is produced by Séverine Tibi for Sevana Films from France, co-produced by Julie Groleau for Couronne Nord (Canada), Cynthia Choucair for Road2Films (Lebanon), May Odeh and Zorana for Mušikić – Mayana Films (Germany), and Alasad for Tabi360 (Jordan).
It has received funding from Telefilm Canada, SODEC, AFAC and Red Sea Film Fund, and was supported by the Sundance Institute. It previously won a special mention at the Red Sea Souk and won a Rotterdam Lab Award and CNC development prize.
“These are two powerful and distinct stories from the Arab world, and we’re excited to bring them to life with our regional and international partners,” said Alasad.
The Jordian producer is behind award-winning Arab films, most recently Sink, which premiered at Toronto, and Ameer Fakheralddin’s Yunan, which debuted at the Berlinale earlier this year.
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