The film received widespread audience and critical acclaim, with Samuel Lembo of Sinistra.ch saying, “[The film] is a punch to the gut and a strong blow to the heart. [It’s] a roar for Palestine at Locarno.”
Meanwhile, film critic Mohamed Reda described the film as “one of the best films [he’s] seen this year,” gushing about it in The Middle East Newspaper and praising it's acting, comparing it to a “harmonious musical duet.”
“Everything fits in its place, and the rhythm is fluid, yet [the film] isn't in a hurry to reach that twist, which could have been squandered if the overall approach had not been consistent from the start.”
Commenting on the theme of her short, Haj said, “UPSHOT is both a lamentation and a testament to the indomitable power of the human spirit.”
“In a world defined by suffering, Suleiman and Lubna's journey is a poignant reminder of the boundless resilience of the human imagination. With a narrative set in the future, this film confronts the stark reality of a nation scarred by decades of conflict. There are no easy answers, no political solutions to assuage the anguish of parents who have lost everything. And so, it unfolds in a realm unbound by time or place — a poignant reflection of the irreparable loss that defies earthly confines.”
UPSHOT is the latest film written and directed by the acclaimed Palestinian filmmaker Maha Haj — whose last feature film, MEDITERRANEAN FEVER, won the Best Screenplay Prize in the Un Certain Regard sidebar of the Cannes Film Festival in 2022.
Set against the backdrop of Gaza's enduring strife, UPSHOT is a gripping drama brought to life by a starry cast headlined by Mohammed Bakri — who received numerous awards for his works, including the Career Achievement Award at the El Gouna Film Festival and Berlinale’s Free Speech Bear Award — alongside Areen Omari, and Amer Hlehel. The film is lensed by Augustin Bonnet and edited by Veronique Lange, with production design handled by Saher Dwairy.
It tells the story of Suleiman and Lubna, a couple who retreat to a mist-shrouded, isolated farm as they try to cope with unspeakable loss. Through the alchemy of storytelling, Suleiman and Lubna conjure a parallel reality free of their pain in which their lives unfold in vivid detail. But when a journalist intrudes upon their sanctuary, wielding the blunt force of truth, the fragile illusion they've constructed threatens to unravel.
UPSHOT is a joint production between Palestine, Italy, and France, and is produced by Ramallah-based company August Films with Hanna Atallah and Ronza Kamel — the two of which are also co-producing THANK YOU FOR BANKING WITH US, which is in post-production and, like UPSHOT, will be distributed worldwide by MAD World and in all Arabic-speaking territories by MAD Distribution.
Haj is a filmmaker with a diverse background in English and Arabic literature. A graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, she weaves her profound understanding of storytelling into each frame. After making her mark as an artistic designer on renowned productions such as THE ATTACK by Ziad Douairi and ON THE HILL by Rafael Natjari, she made her directorial debut in 2009 with the short film ORANGES, followed by the poignant documentary BEHIND THESE WALLS in 2010.
Her first foray into feature filmmaking came in 2015 with PERSONAL AFFAIRS — a critically acclaimed work that was also selected for Un Certain Regard in the 2016 edition of the Cannes Film Festival. MEDITERRANEAN FEVER followed up its success at Cannes in 2022 with an extended festival tour that included Edinburgh, Chicago, Palm Springs, Sydney, Melbourne, Sarajevo, Vancouver, Goa, Sao Paolo, Sevilla and Rotterdam international film festivals. The film won the Student Jury Prize at Tokyo FILMex and a Golden Firebird for Young Cinema at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. It was also Palestine’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards the following year.
