Daughters of Abdulrahman

Name: Daughters of Abdulrahman
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: 2021
Duration: 112 mins

Director: Zaid Abu Hamdan

Rights:

Highlights

The film had its world premiere at the International Competition of Cairo International Film Festival and was awarded the Audience Award (Youssef Cherif Rizkallah Award) at Cairo International Film Festival. Moreover, it was screened in the first edition of Red Sea International Film Festival.
Observes the patriarchal society in the Arab world, practiced by men and women alike.
Directed by Zaid Abu Hamdan whose credits include the short film Bahiya & Mahmoud, which was the official Jordanian submission to the Academy Awards, and won the Best Film Award at the Palm Springs International ShortFest in 2011
Features a star-studded cast, including: Saba Mubarak and Farah Bseiso
Won two post-production awards, presented by the Arab Radio and Television Network (ART) and Rotana Group at the CineGouna SpringBoard, held within the CineGouna Platform of the El Gouna Film Festival
Received grants from the Doha Film Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, and the Jordan Film Fund (JFF) (Production Category) that was offered by The Royal Film Commission Jordan - RFC

2021/ Jordan - USA - Qatar112 mins/ Drama, Comedy

Original Title

Banat Abdul-Rahman

SYNOPSIS

In a lower-middle-class neighborhood in Amman, single and middle-aged Zainab lives a dreary existence as a local seamstress and her father’s keeper. After her father accidentally sees her in a wedding dress she is altering for her cousin – Zainab wakes up and finds her father missing – a man who gave reason for her existence.

CAST

Saba Mubarak
Hanan Hillo
Farah Bsaiso
Mariam Basha

CREW

Screenwriter: Zaid Abu Hamdan
DOP: Ahmad Jalboush
Editor: Dina Farouk

Production Company(ies)

iProduction
Pan East Media
MAD Solutions
Lagoonie
Arab Media Network

Producer(s)

Zaid Abu Hamdan
Aya Wuhoush
Saba Mubarak

Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), Egypt

Red Sea International Film Festival, Saudi Arabia

Malmo Arab Film Festival, Sweden

San Diego Arab Film Festival, USA

Beirut International Women Film Festival, Lebanon

Audience Award (Youssef Cherif Rizkallah Award at Cairo International Film Festival, Egypt

Audience Award at San Diego Arab Film Festival, USA

Arab Radio and Television Network (ART) Award at El Gouna Film Festival, Egypt (during post-prodcution)

Rotana Media Group at the El Gouna Film Festival, Egypt (during post-production)

Reviews

Amber Wilkinson - Screen Daily

Ola El Shafie - The Egyptian newspaper of ElWatan website (Arabic)

Dr. Malek Khouri - Kitabat website (Arabic)

Jay Weissberg - The Film Verdict

Quotes

“There’s a level of forgivable contrivance to be expected in a comedy like this,” AMBER WILKINSON - Screen Daily.

“The film tackles several issues that women in our Arab society are still suffering from and it reminds us of Egyptian films,” Ola El Shafie - ElWatan Website (Arabic)

“The film adopts a Sarcastic humour sense in the construction of its situations, which is rare in Arab Cinema; to find all these laughs come from an audience of a non-Egyptian film in theaters.” Ola El Shafie - ElWatan Website (Arabic)

“The film’s script is full of details that reflect the director’s well-knowledge of women and their various worlds, resulting in vivid and vibrant characters” Ola El Shafie - ElWatan Website (Arabic)

Zaid Abu Hamdan made a bold film on the taboos that women suffer; a topic that filmmakers, especially in the Levant region, hardly dare to address” Malek Khouri- Kitabat (Arabic)

“Predictably stereotyped characterizations still deliver some enjoyable moments in this female empowerment story that unfortunately also plays to the region’s homophobia but will be a crowd-pleaser in the Arab world,” Jay Weissberg - The Film Verdict.