Feature filmNEZOUH, bySoudade Kaadan, was selected to screen in the Orizzonti Extra Competition of the 79th edition of Venice International Film Festival (August 31-Sep.10) where it lands its world premiere.
Kaadan returns toVenice with her second film four years later, when her first film, The Day I Lost My Shadow, was awarded theLion of the Future award at the OrizzontiCompetition.
“After winning the Lion of the Future award at Venice, Soudade Kaadan returns to Venice one more time with her second feature film, which is about a symbolic story for two women left Damascus under bombardment and became refugees. It’s a black comedy legend.” commented Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera on the selection.
The film takes place during the Syrian conflict, when a missile destroys the ceiling of the house of the 14-year-old Zeina (Hala Zein). 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,Zeina’s mother, Hala, (Kinda Alloush)decides to leave. She puts up a fight with her husbandMotaz (Samer Al Masri) who refuses to become a refugee and tries everything to stop his family from leaving his house.
The film received Baumi Award for script development fromBerlinale and was awarded ARTE atCannes Film Festival and Sorfond award as part of Cinéfondation’s workshop. Also, it received support from Torino Film Lab, Doha Film Institute and theBritish Film Institute (National Lottery funds).
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 lensed by prominent cinematographer Hélène Louvart. MAD Solutions manages the film’s distribution in the Arab world whilemk2 films is in charge of the film’s worldwide sales. Moreover,it is distributed in France byPyramide and is financed through FILM4 and Stars Collective.
Previously, MAD Solutions teamed up with Soudade to distribute her documentary film Obscure. Furthermore, MAD contributed to screening 3 of her films on Netflix; THE DAY I LOST MY SHADOW, and the two short films; AZIZA and BESIEGED BREAD. Currently, MAD manages the distribution of the three films.
Born in France, Soudade Kaadan is a Syrian director who studied theater criticism at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts and graduated from the Institut des Etudes Scénique, Audiovisuelles et cinématographiques (IESAV), Saint Joseph University in Lebanon.
Her film THE DAY I LOST MY SHADOW marks her feature debut. It won the Lion of the Future award at the Orizzonti Competition of Venice Film Festival and the jury prize at LA Festival.
Soudade’s films nabbed dozens of international awards and shed light on the situation in Syria during the previous decade.