Film makers from the Arab world and Iran have scooped several prizes at this year's Cannes International Film Festival.
Lebanese actress-director Nadine Labaki was awarded the Francois Chalet prize for her film "Halla2 Lawen" (Where Do We Go Now?). The prize is awarded annually for best feature film. Labaki won the trophy under the "Un Certain Regard" category, which contained the event's second largest pool of competitors. Also among the winners in the "Un Certain Regard" category on Friday was Iranian Mohamed Rasoul, who was named best director for his film “Goodbye”. The prize awarded to Rasoulof, who currently serves a six-year sentence in Iran and has been banned by the Iranian government from making films, was received by his wife.
"Halla2 Lawen," a joint Egyptian-French production, provides solutions for sectarian feuds in the Arab World by using a love story between a Christian girl and her Muslim neighbor in a Lebanese village.
MOROCCO'S FIRST CANNES PRIZE
Moroccan director Kamal Lazraq's "Drari" ranked second in the short film competition, "Cinefoundation". He thus becomes the first Moroccan Cannes winner in the festival's history.
“Drari” is the third film by Lazraq. He previously directed two films, in 2009 and 2010. Drari is inspired by the friendship between two young men coming from opposite social backgrounds. The film was shot in Casablanca. It’s between documentary and fiction, the main actors are non-professional actors and they are acting their own life. The main subject is the difficulty for these two characters to have a normal relationship despite the difference of caste.
In Kamal Lazraq's words, "The two young men are friends of mine. As I was spending time with them, I felt that their relation was telling a lot of things about the Moroccan society, the social inequalities and the caste system that is still very present, especially in a city like Casablanca. So I tried to write a story very close to reality, which can subtly make us understand what is behind this friendship."
The cast includes Mohammed Azandik, Nissrine Erradi and Ghali Rtal Bennani
Lebanese actress-director Nadine Labaki was awarded the Francois Chalet prize for her film "Halla2 Lawen" (Where Do We Go Now?). The prize is awarded annually for best feature film. Labaki won the trophy under the "Un Certain Regard" category, which contained the event's second largest pool of competitors. Also among the winners in the "Un Certain Regard" category on Friday was Iranian Mohamed Rasoul, who was named best director for his film “Goodbye”. The prize awarded to Rasoulof, who currently serves a six-year sentence in Iran and has been banned by the Iranian government from making films, was received by his wife.
"Halla2 Lawen," a joint Egyptian-French production, provides solutions for sectarian feuds in the Arab World by using a love story between a Christian girl and her Muslim neighbor in a Lebanese village.
MOROCCO'S FIRST CANNES PRIZE
Moroccan director Kamal Lazraq's "Drari" ranked second in the short film competition, "Cinefoundation". He thus becomes the first Moroccan Cannes winner in the festival's history.
Mohammed Azandik, Nissrine Erradi and Ghali Rtal Bennani in Drari
Kamal Lazraq
In Kamal Lazraq's words, "The two young men are friends of mine. As I was spending time with them, I felt that their relation was telling a lot of things about the Moroccan society, the social inequalities and the caste system that is still very present, especially in a city like Casablanca. So I tried to write a story very close to reality, which can subtly make us understand what is behind this friendship."
The cast includes Mohammed Azandik, Nissrine Erradi and Ghali Rtal Bennani
1 comment:
I believe it is a Lebanese Movie, directed by Nadine Labaki
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