Doha Film Institute
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A hot summer's day in the Gaza Strip. Today the electricity is on. Christine’s beauty salon is heaving with female clients: a bitter divorcée, a religious woman, a lunatic addicted to prescription drugs, a young bride-to-be accompanied by her asthmatic mother and her quarrelsome mother-in-law, and a very pregnant woman, among others. But their day of leisure is disrupted when gunfire breaks out across the street.
A hot summer's day in the Gaza Strip. Today the electricity is on. Christine’s beauty salon is heaving with female clients: a bitter divorcée, a religious woman, a lunatic addicted to prescription drugs, a young bride-to-be accompanied by her asthmatic mother and her quarrelsome mother-in-law, and a very pregnant woman, among others. But their day of leisure is disrupted when gunfire breaks out across the street.

A gangland family has stolen the lion from Gaza’s only zoo, and Hamas police forces have decided it’s time to settle old scores. Stuck in the salon, with the prospect of death drawing ever nearer, the women start to unravel. How will the day end? Will they lose their lives for the sake of ‘liberating the lion’?

Credits

Director
Arab Nasser, Tarzan Nasser
Screenwriter
Arab Nasser, Tarzan Nasser
Producer
Rani Massalha, Rashid Abdelhamid, Marie Legrand
Cinematographer
Éric Devin
Editor
Sophie Reine, Eyas Salman
Production Company
Les Films du Tambour, Made in Palestine
Sales Company
Elle Driver
Distributor
Jean Labade, Le Pacte
Cast
Hiam Abbass, Manal Awad, Mirna Sakhla, Victoria Balitska

About the Director

Arab Nasser
Filmmakers and identical twin brothers Tarzan and Arab were born in Gaza in 1988. In 2010, they received the A.M. Qattan Foundation's prestigious Young Artist of the Year Award for their conceptual artwork ‘Gazawood’, a series of mock-Hollywood posters for imaginary feature films named after real Israeli military offensives on Gaza. That same year, they directed the short film ‘Colourful Journey’,
Tarzan Nasser
Filmmakers and identical twin brothers Tarzan and Arab were born in Gaza in 1988. In 2010, they received the A.M. Qattan Foundation's prestigious Young Artist of the Year Award for their conceptual artwork ‘Gazawood’, a series of mock-Hollywood posters for imaginary feature films named after real Israeli military offensives on Gaza. That same year, they directed the short film ‘Colourful Journey’,

Producers

Rani Massalha

Rani Massalha is a distinguished Egyptian/Palestinian director, writer, and producer born in Paris, France. In 2013, he directed and co-produced his acclaimed debut feature film 'Giraffada,' starring Saleh Bakri, Laure De Clermont, and Roschdy Zem. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and embarked on an extensive international tour, including an official screening at the United Nations headquarters in New York. 'Giraffada' was produced by MACT Productions, distributed in France by Pyramide in 2014, and was later acquired by Netflix for global distribution. Massalha's short film 'Elvis of Nazareth' previously won the uniFrance Special Prize at Cannes, demonstrating his early promise. Rani Massalha is teaming up with his brother Salem for their film 'Cairo Shadows,' produced by Habib Attia and Muriel Merlin for Les Films du Tambour. Massalha continues to establish himself as a significant voice in contemporary Arab cinema through his distinctive visual storytelling and compelling narratives.<br />

Rashid Abdelhamid

Rashid Abdelhamid founded the Made in Palestine Project, an independent arts initiative to create and promote contemporary visual art with a focus on Palestine in 2013. Also in 2013, he produced and acted in the short film’ Condom Lead’, which made the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival, the first time a Palestinian short film was selected in this category. In 2015, Made in Palestine Project’s first feature film ‘Dégradé’ was selected at La Semaine de la Critique at the Cannes Film Festival. Rashid Abdelhamid is the co-founder of the Palestine Film institute that aims to promote film art and film culture in Palestine.

Marie Legrand

Marie Legrand worked on international coproductions including the omnibus film ‘7 Days in Havana’, ‘Eleven Flowers’ and ‘Elefante Blanco’ before joining the executive production of Massalha’s ‘Giraffada’.

Contacts