DAUGHTERS OF ABDULRAHMAN to screen in Spain and Sweden

DAUGHTERS OF ABDULRAHMAN to screen in Spain and Sweden 

Zaid Abu Hamdan’s DAUGHTERS OF ABDULRAHMAN is set to be screened at the 2022 Festival Internacional de Cinema de Tarragona, which is scheduled to be held from November 30th to December 7th in Spain’s Mediterranean city of Tarragona.

It will also be featured on Saturday, December 3rd at Kino Cinema in Lund, Sweden, in cooperation with the Malmö Arab Film Festival.

The four-time-award-winning film DAUGHTERS OF ABDULRAHMAN will be featured in the festival’s main Parallel Section.

The Festival Internacional de Cinema de Tarragona — which has the slogan of "Tu, tot, tothom" (You, all, everywhere) and focuses on the redefinition of the "I" and how we relate to each other collectively — aims to introduce to audiences and distributors the best debuts of the season. 

Recently, DAUGHTERS OF ABDULRAHMAN had an international tour at several prestigious film festivals, including the Arab Film Festival in Zurich, which was held earlier from November 17th to the 20th.

Moreover, it is set to compete for the prestigious General Entertainment Authority’s Joy Awards — the largest ceremony to recognize and honor artistic achievements in the Arab world  — which is scheduled to be held on January 27th, 2023.

Furthermore, it featured in the Arab Film Festival in Germany, the 10th edition of the Calgary Arab Film Nights Festival in Canada, and the Lebanese Film Festival in Canada. It was also commercially released in Egypt.

The film follows the storyline of Zainab, who wakes up to a shocking discovery that could defame her in the neighborhood. She quickly calls for her sister Amaal’s aid. However, fiery Amaal has her own problems with their other sister Samah – who is too busy to be there – while Khitam, the fourth sister, is busy with her own goals in life.

DAUGHTERS OF ABDULRAHMAN also had a successful commercial tour in the Arab world that included screenings in the UAE, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. This is the first Jordanian film to screen for ten consecutive weeks in Jordanian cinemas, in addition to another two weeks of special screenings. 

Additionally, the movie received the Audience Award at four prestigious festivals – the Middle East Now Film Festival in Italy, the FEST - New Directors/New Films Festival in Portugal, the Arab Film Festival in San Diego, and the Cairo International Film Festival, where it landed its world premiere.

It also screened at the Amman International Film Festival - Awal Film, where it was well received, selling out its tickets as soon as they were available.

Moreover, it was featured in the Beirut International Women Film Festival, where it received a special mention, as well as the Red Sea International Film Festival's first edition within the Arab Spectacular Section.

Written and directed by Zaid Abu Hamdan, DAUGHTERS OF ABDULRAHMAN stars Saba Mubarak, Farah Bsaiso, Hanan Al-Hilo, Mariam Al-Basha, and Khalid Al-Tarifi. 

The film was produced by Pan East Media, Lagoonie Film Production, Wika Production and Distribution, and the Arab Media Network. Meanwhile, MAD Solutions and Lagoonie Film Production are co-distributing the film in the Arab world.

The film was financed by several funds, including the Doha Film Institute Development Fund, the Jordan Royal Film Commission’s Film Fund, and a fund from the CineGouna Platform of the El-Gouna Film Festival. 

It was also selected among the finalist projects at the Tribeca Film Festival-All Access Program and was selected for the RFC Rawi Screenwriters Lab.

Pan East Media is a Jordanian production house established in 2011 by Saba Mubarak and Aya Wuhoush with the main objective of creating authentic audio-visual content in Jordan and presenting first-rate artistic work on both regional and international levels. 

In 2015, Saba moved the company's headquarters to the UAE and added talent management and entertainment production to its list of services. 

The company aims to enrich the quality of the content it delivers, creating and developing several scripts for both cinema and television throughout the years.

Born and raised in Amman, Jordan, Zaid Abu Hamdan holds an MFA from the New York Film Academy in Hollywood, California. 

The filmmaker started his career working on international TV shows as an assistant director and producer, including E! Entertainment's coverage of the Golden Globe and Academy Awards. 

He also worked as a television reporter for the Middle East Broadcast Corporation Group (MBC Group) in Hollywood and directed reality and scripted shows such as Sesame Street and a competition that showcases the Arab Film Studio Program at Image Nation in Abu Dhabi. 

Since 2009, Zaid has written and directed five award-winning and audience-acclaimed short films, including Bahiya & Mahmoud, which was the official Jordanian submission to the Academy Awards in 2012.