Get to know : 3 projects at the Industry Days of the BRIFF

Halaqat meets BRIFF! Three film projects were selected by Halaqat to be presented during the Industry Days by the Brussels International Film Festival on 29 and 30 June 2022: Carnaval by Mohamed Siam, Plum Season by Rim Mejdi and Tunis-Djerba by Amel Guellaty.

• Tunis-Djerba by Amel Guellaty 

Amel Guellaty
Amel is a Tunisian director and photographer. In 2017, she writes and directs her first short fiction Black Mamba. The film wins several awards and is broadcasted by Canal+ and Italian RT Channel. Amel has just completed her second short fiction, Chitana, and is developing her first feature, Tunis-Djerba. As a photographer, Amel is published in different magazines and participates in different group exhibitions.

Asma Chiboub 
Based in Tunisia, Asma Chiboub produced short films like several award-winning “Black Mamba” and, more recently, “Chitana”, both by Amel Guellaty. She’s currently developing “Tunis-Djerba”, a dramatic comedy debut, also by Amel Guellaty, and Firas Khoury’s second feature “Dear Tarkovski”.
Asma worked as a reading consultant for MedFilm Factory and as a committee organization member in several editions of the Carthage Film Festival. She is also part of EAVE network. 

Tunis-Djerba
Alyssa, 19, and Mehdi, 23, have been bonded since childhood by an unambiguous friendship. To escape their hard life, they use their overflowing imagination.
One day, they find out about a contest in Djerba, in the South of the country, that may turn their lives around. They steal a car and start a crazy road trip where they go through adventures and hardships. Their friendship is put to the test and they discover the best and the worst of their country.
Produced by Atlas Vision & Haut les Mains Productions – Tunisia, France
 

• Plum Season by Rim Mejdi

Rim Mejdi
Rim Mejdi was born in Marrakech, Morocco. She integrates the School of Visual arts Marrakech where she has a B.A and an M.A in film directing.“Out of town” her Masters' final study film was screened in several festivals: Locarno, Cairo International Film Festival, and Carthage Film among many.In 2018, she co-founded Tifaw Films and produced short films “JAYEEN” and “ART-TRISTE”. In 2021 she directed “Children’s game”.  She is currently developing “ Plum season” , her first feature fiction film.

Plum Season
Nouha is a 16-year-old teenager, who lives in a bubble between a fusional relationship with her mother and her wanderings with Omar, Amine and other boys in motorcycles gang. Unexpected, the father reappears after a long absence and disturbs the balance of the Nouha’s life. Nouha has no choice but to run away with her friends to the Atals mountains where she encounters Baghough, Waghzen and Taghzent, supernatural entities awakening her to a new dimension of reality. 
The project was developed in Torino Film Lab and pitched at the Atlas Workshops. 
Produced by Tifaw Films Production – Morocco
 

• Carnaval by Mohamed Siam and Talal Al-Muhanna

Mohamed Siam
Siam, a Member of The Academy, is an award-winning filmmaker who has been the recipient of grants by Sundance, World Cinema Fund (Germany), CNC, Sørfond, Visions Sud Est, Doha Film Institute, IDFA Bertha Fund, Hot Docs Blue Ice, OIF and Cinereach. His films were screened at Karlovy Vary, NYFF, Visions du Réel and Carthage - where he won Grand Prix-Golden Tanit (2018) and Best Cinematography (2017). His current fiction feature CARNAVAL was selected for L’Atelier of Cinéfondation in Cannes (2020).

Talal Al-Muhanna (Producer)
Talal produces films by Arab filmmakers and large-scale theatrical productions highlighting arts & culture in the Gulf region. His films have won awards at Dubai IFF, RIDM, ITF Prague, Chicago International TV Festival, Doha Tribeca Film Festival and New Orleans Film Festival amongst others. Broadcast credits include ARTE / ZDF, NTR, SVT, NRK and World Channel in USA. He co-wrote Mohamed Siam’s debut long documentary “Whose Country?”, coproduced with ITVS and awarded by BBC Arabic Film Festival.

Carnaval
Adham is not suited to his line of work in the Cairo police. He suffers from panic disorder and his colleagues taunt him constantly. On a day of civil unrest, a detainee under his watch escapes and Adham’s colleagues accuse him of being a traitor. Despite fleeing, he soon finds himself on the unexpected mission of rescuing the 12-year-old daughter of his boss: Tanya is stuck at Cairo Zoo and - with the city crumbling into chaos - he must find a way to get her to safety while avoiding capture.
Produced by Linked Production – Kuwait, Egypt