Personal Affairs (film)
Personal Affairs (Hebrew: עניינים אישיים, Arabic: Omor Shakhsiya) is a 2016 Israeli drama film, the directorial debut of Nazareth-born Palestinian Maha Haj.[1] It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.[2][3]
Personal Affairs | |
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Film poster | |
Directed by | Maha Haj |
Written by | Maha Haj |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | Israel |
Language | Arabic Hebrew |
Plot
This is the story of a Palestinian family whose members are dispersed between Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories, and Europe. The elderly parents live in Nazareth. The husband, Salah, keeps occupied with his laptop computer and doesn't interact with his wife, Nabila, occupies her time with cooking, knitting and watching television soap operas. "She can barely bring herself to acknowledge her husband’s presence, much to his irritation. Nor can she muster much enthusiasm for joining him on a getaway to Sweden to visit their son Hisham".[1]
In Ramallah, Samar, Nabeela and Saleh's pregnant daughter, cares for Granny, whose dotage is punctuated by brief moments of reflection. Meanwhile, Samar's husband, George, a mechanic, finds himself cast in an American movie after visiting filmmakers turn up at his garage. The opportunity affords him permission to go to Haifa — where he sees the Mediterranean for the first time.
Another son, Hisham, has relocated to Stockholm, putting himself at an even greater remove from his family and origins. In the film, he invites his parents to visit him.
"Between check-points and dreams, frivolity and politics, some want to leave, others want to stay but all have personal affairs to resolve."[4]
Cast
- Amer Hlehel as George
- Doraid Liddawi as Tareq
- Zidane Awad as Saeed
- Mahmoud Shawahdeh as Salah
- Saana Shawahdeh as Nabila
- Maisa Abd Elhadi as Maisa
- Hanan Hillo as Samar
- Ziad Bakri as Hisham
- Jihan Dermelkonian as the grandmother
Awards and nominations
- October 2016: Haifa International Film Festival: the Haifa Cultural Fund Award for Best Feature Film (the festival's top prize), award of NIS 100,000[5]
- October 2016: 38th Cinemed Film Festival in Montpellier: BNP Paribas Critics' Prize,[6] award of 2,000 Euro
- October 2016: Philadelphia Film Festival: the Archie Award for Best First Feature [7]
References
- "'Personal Affairs': Cannes Review". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- "2016 Cannes Film Festival Announces Lineup". IndieWire. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
- "Cannes 2016: Film Festival Unveils Official Selection Lineup". Variety. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
- "Personal Affairs". Jerusalem Cinematheque - Israel Film Archive. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- "The award winners - Haifa International Film Festival 2016". Haifa International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- "Cinemed 2016 - Winners List". International Mediterranean Film Festival Montpellier newsletter. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
- "Philadelphia Film Festival 25". Philadelphia Film Festival. 30 October 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2017.