MAD Solutions released the teaser poster for Soudade Kaadan's NEZOUH on Monday, November 7,ahead of its Arab world premiere at the second Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) in the Red Sea Competition.
The poster depicts a large hole in the ceiling of 14-year-old Zeina's room, revealing the stars in the night sky. A rope is seen on the left side of the hole, leaving the audience to conjure up their own ideas about the rope's significance in the film.
The film takes place during the Syrian conflict, when a missile destroys the ceiling of the house of 14-year-old Zeina. As a result, she sleeps for the first time under the stars and makes friends with Amer (Nizar Alani) – the boy next door.
When the violence escalates, Hala (Kinda Alloush) – Zeina's mother – decides to leave, getting into an argument with her husband, Motaz (Samer Al-Masri), who refuses to become a refugee and tries everything to stop his family from leaving their house.
In MIME's review, E. Nina Rothe wrote, "NEZOUH completely captured my attention and imagination from beginning to end." Meanwhile, Screen Daily described it as "an intense and delicate film that bravely seeks to upend expectations of what the term 'Syrian drama' generally suggests — violence and victims." Furthermore, Fabien Lemercier described it on the Cineuropa website as "Brimming with wonderful surrealist ideas."
NEZOUH held its world premiere at the Orizzonti Extra Competition of the 79th edition of the Venice International Film Festival where it nabbed the Audience Award presented by Armani Beauty – the festival's main sponsor – making it the first Arab film to receive it. It also received the Lanterna Magica Award, which was presented by Cinecircoli Giovanili Socioculturali (CGS), ending director Soudade Kaadan hattrick from Venice, which startedwhen her first film, THE DAY I LOST MY SHADOW, was awarded the Lion of the Future Award at the Orizzonti Competition.
Moreover, it won a Post-Production Award at the Cairo International Film Festival's Cairo Film Connection, the Baumi Award for Script Development at the Berlinale, the ARTE Award at Cannes, and the Sorfond Award at Cinéfondation's Workshop.
It was also nominated for Best Film at the London BFI Film Festival and screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival, São Paulo International Film Festival, Mostra de València – Cinema del Mediterrani in Spain, and Busan International Film Festival.
On another note, it received support from the Torino Film Lab, Doha Film Institute, and British Film Institute.
Shot in Turkey, NEZOUH is written and directed by Soudade Kaadan. It's produced by KAF Productions (Soudade Kaadan) and Berkeley Media Group (Yu-Fai Suen) in association with Ex Nihilo (Marc Bordure).
NEZOUH starsKinda Alloush, Samer Al-Masri, Hala Zein, Nizar Alani, and Darina Al-Joundi, and is lensed by prominent cinematographer Hélène Louvart.
MAD Solutions is managing the film's distribution in the Arab world, while mk2 films is in charge of the film's worldwide sales. Moreover, it is being distributed in France by Pyramide and financed through FILM4, BFI, and Stars Collective.
Born in France, Soudade Kaadan is a Syrian director who studied theater critiquing at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts and graduated from the Institut des Etudes Scénique, Audiovisuelles et Cinématographiques (IESAV) at Saint Joseph University in Lebanon.
A few months ago, Netflix streamed three of her movies, including THE DAY I LOST MY SHADOW, and two of her short films – AZIZA and BESIEGED BREAD. The films, which nabbed dozens of international awards, shed light on the situation in Syria over the past decade and are currently available to subscribers worldwide.
