The Alleys

Name: The Alleys
Genre: Thriller
Released: 2021
Duration: 116 min

Director: Bassel Ghandour

Rights:

Highlights

Nominated for the Best Original Score for a Narrative Feature Film at Canadian Screen Music Awards (CASMA)
The Alleys’ world premiere witnessed a massive turnout at the iconic Piazza Grande of Locarno Film Festival
The first Jordanian feature film to be selected at Rotterdam & Locarno
Had sold-out tickets at BFI London Film Festival
Had its Arab world premiere at Red Sea International Film Festival
Nominated for four awards at the Critics Awards for Arab Films presented by Arab Cinema Center on the sidelines of the 75th Cannes Film Festival
Won the 'Works in Progress Post-production Development Award' at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and won two awards for films in post-production at Cairo Film Connection of Cairo International Film Festival
Was supported by top-notch film fund institutions in the Arab world, including Royal Film Commission-Jordan, The Jordan Film Fund and Doha Film Institute
Bassel Ghandour’s Theeb film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at both the Academy Awards and the BAFTAs

2021/ Jordan116 min/ Thriller

Original Title

Al Harra

SYNOPSIS

In a gossip-ridden, violent neighborhood in East Amman, a young hustler will stop at nothing to be with his secret lover, but her merciless mother won’t have it. When an extortionist catches the couple in the act, the mother solicits a gangster to put a stop to it all... things don’t go as planned.

CAST

Emad Azmi
Baraka Rahmani
Munther Rayahnah
Nadira Omran
Maisa Abd Elhadi

CREW

Screenwriter: Bassel Ghandour
DOP: Justin Hamilton
Editor: Eyad Hamam

Production Company(ies)

Bayt Al Shawareb For Media Production
The Imaginarium Films
Lagoonie Film Production

Producer(s)

Yousef Abed Alnabi
Rula Nasser
(Shahinaz El Akkad)

Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland

BFI London Film Festival, UK

Red Sea International Film Festival, Saudi Arabia

International Film Festival Rotterdam, Netherlands

MedFilm Festival in Rome, Italy

Arab Film Festival Tübingen, Germany

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Estonia

Espoo Ciné International Film Festival, Finland

Festival du film franco-arabe, France

Raindance Film Festival, UK

REC, Tarragona International Film Festival, Spain

Pingyao International Film Festival, China

Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival, Armenia

Festival du Premier Film d’Annonay, France

Malmo Arab Film Festival, Sweden

The Grand Prix du Jury at the Festival du Premier Film d’Annonay, France

Audience award and Special Mention at Malmo Arab Film Festival, Sweden

Reviews

Nikki Baughan - Screendaily

Rob Aldam - Backseat Mafia

Film Critic Umar Ali - The Upcoming website

Quotes

This ambitious debut feature from Bassel Ghandour has confidence and style...It’s largely due to the strength of the cast that none of these characters fade into the background ; each has autonomy and presence in their own story,” Nikki Baughan - Screendaily.

“Bassel Ghandour's debut feature is spellbinding crime drama…The myriad twisting interrelationships draw comparisons with a Scorsese gangster film…Beautifully shot, and impressively acted. Whilst much of the action takes place within a small area of the city, the film feels epic in scope,” Rob Aldam - Backseat Mafia.

“The Alleys is a great thriller, telling a story that weaves complex and intelligent topics into compelling and thoroughly entertaining character arcs...Much like the avenues and alleyways in which it takes place, this feature is full of twists and turns...a very strong script, which is able to masterfully shift tone from intense and violent to playful and funny without losing any momentum,” Film Critic Umar Ali - The Upcoming website.