Villa Touma

Name: Villa Touma
Genre: Family, Romance
Released: 2014
Duration: 85 min

Director: Suha Arraf

Rights:

Highlights

Been to more than 50 international film festivals.
Received a Special Mention from the Union of Universities and Film Schools in Italy.
Reaped the Church of Iceland Award at the Reykjavik International Film Festival.
The director was listed on Variety Magazine's “Top 10 Screenwriters to Watch" and earned the Best Female Award at the Los Angeles Women’s International Film Festival.

2014 / Palestine85 min/ Family, Romance

Original Title

Villa Touma

SYNOPSIS

The film follows a Palestinian Christian family of three women (Violette, Juliette, and Antoinette) who live by being immersed in the past, isolated from Palestinian society enclosed in Villa Touma in Ramallah. Their niece Khadija, who had been raised on an orphanage, comes to live with them and they raise her as befitting an aristocratic family. They teach her French and piano. Violette (the eldest sister) searches for a groom for her as well, so that she doesn’t end up a spinster like them.

CAST

Nisreen Faour
Ula Tabari
Cherien Dabis
Maria Zreik

CREW

Screenwriter: Suha Arraf
DOP: Yaron Scharf
Editor: Arik Leibovitch

Production Company(ies)

Belssan

Producer(s)

Suha Arraf

Venice International Film Festival, Italy

Palestinian Film Festival, Australia

Reel Palestine, Dubai, UAE

Boston Palestine Film Festival, USA

Malmo Arab Film Festival (MAFF), Sweden

DC Palestinian Film and Arts Festival, USA

Toronto Palestine Film Festival (TPFF), Canada

Sydney Film Festival, Australia

Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), USA

Reykjavík International Film Festival, Iceland

MedFilm Festival, Italy

Women's International Film and Television Showcase in Los Angeles (WIFTS), USA

Special Mention by the Film University and Institute Association at the Venice International Film Festival, Italy

Church of Iceland Award at the Reykjavík International Film Festival, Iceland

Best Actress Award at the MedFilm Festival, Italy

Best Director Award at the Women's International Film and Television Showcase in Los Angeles (WIFTS), USA

Reviews

Deborah Young - The Hollywood Reporter

Jay Weissberg - Variety

Kaleem Aftab - The National

Creede Newton - Middle East Eye

Ola Sheikh - Emirates Today (Arabic)

Yousef Al Shayeb - Al-Ayyam Newspaper, Palestine (Arabic)

Quotes

“Suha Arraf’s Villa Touma offers a world view that’s uniquely Palestinian yet very European.” Kaleem Aftab - The National

“The performance of the actresses in the film, with no exception, was impressive" Ola Sheikh - Emirates Today (Arabic)

"Digging into untold topics that no one likes to talk about," Yousef Al Shayeb - Al-Ayyam Newspaper, Palestine (Arabic)