Written and directed by Bassel Ghandour, the film stars Emad Azmi, Baraka Rahmani, Munther Rayahneh, Maisa Abd Elhadi, Nadira Omran, and Nadim Rimawi.
Jordanian director Bassel Ghandour’s debut feature film The Alleys will premiere in Egypt on Tuesday, November 8 at Zamalek Cinema ahead of its release in Egyptian theatres on November 9.
In addition to media figures and A-list actors, the film’s director Bassel Ghandour and lead Jordanian actor Munther Rayahnah – as well as members of the crew – will also attend.
Munther Rayahnah said: “I believe that the commercial release of The Alleys is a vital step and a significant sign for any Arab film to stress its uniqueness, especially since the Egyptian public has always been interested in learning about Arab stories from other neighbouring countries with whom Egypt has fraternal connections, such as Jordan. As we have learned from Egyptian movies about the stories of Egyptian alleys, the audience here will be able to learn about contemporary Jordanian alley stories through this film.”
Shahinaz El-Akkad – CEO and Founder of Lagoonie Film Production, which co-produced the film – added: “I am pleased that Lagoonie is a part of a successful film that is highly acclaimed by critics and audiences alike. We are excited to continue the company’s mission of making notable Arab films from throughout the Arab world that can be screened at festivals and commercially because, at the end of the day, we want to engage the cinematic audience.”
Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab, Co-Founders of MAD Solutions, stated: “The screening of the film in Egyptian cinemas is part of MAD Solutions’ objective to build a diversified cinematic landscape that includes films from various Arab nations and tales from throughout the Arab world.”
The Alleys is also set to land its US premiere at the 26th edition of the Arab Film Festival in San Francisco, where it will screen on Sunday, November 13 at 8:30 pm (GMT+7).
Following its commercial release in the UAE, its home country of Jordan, and 21 theatres in Saudi Arabia, The Alleys will soon be released across the rest of the Arab world.
Set in a gossip-ridden, violent neighbourhood in East Amman, The Alleys follows the story of a young hustler that will stop at nothing to be with his secret lover, but her mother will not have it.
When an extortionist’s camera captures a video of the couple in the act, the mother solicits a gangster to put a stop to it all, however, things do not go as planned.
The film is written and directed by Bassel Ghandour and stars Emad Azmi, Baraka Rahmani, Munther Rayahneh, Maisa Abd Elhadi, Nadira Omran, and Nadim Rimawi.
It is produced by Bayt Al Shawareb (Yousef Abed Al-Nabi), The Imaginarium Films (Rula Nasser), and co-produced by Lagoonie Film Production (Shahinaz El Akkad). Mad Solutions handles the film’s distribution across the Arab World, while Elle Driver (France) handles the international sales.
Recently, the film received the Audience Award and a special mention from the Malmo Arab Film Festival in Sweden in addition to the Grand Prix du Jury at the Festival du Premier Film d’Annonay in France.
It was also nominated for four awards at the Critics’ Awards for Arab Films, which are presented by the Arab Cinema Center on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival.
The film received the Works in Progress Post-Production Development Award of the Eastern Promises programme at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czechia. Furthermore, it won two awards for films in post-production at the Cairo Film Connection, the co-financing platform of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) and received support from The Jordan Film Fund of the Royal Film Commission, Doha Film Institute (Qatar), and the Red Sea International Film Festival (KSA). During the development phase, the film was aided by EAVE Producers Workshop, Rawi Screenwriters lab, Dubai Film Connection, and The Sorfond Pitching Forum, which is organised by the Norwegian South Film Fund.
