'Huda's Salon' is written and directed by Hany Abu-Assad and stars Ali Suliman, Manal Awad, and Maisa Abd Elhadi.
Huda’s Salon by Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad has received the Special Jury Prize (Mohammed Al-Rakab Award) at the 27th edition of the Tetouan Mediterranean Film Festival.
This is the film’s second award, which comes after the Special Jury Mention at Beirut International Women Film Festival.
Recently, Huda’s Salon opened Reel Palestine Film Festival UAE and landed its Arab world premiere at the Red Sea International Film Festival. It has also received wide critical acclaim upon its premiere at Toronto International Film Festival.
Based on real events, Huda’s Salon is a heart-racing, entertaining feminist thriller, where two women fight for their freedom. Reem, a young mother who is married to a jealous man, goes to Huda’s salon in Bethlehem for a haircut and an attentive ear. However, this ordinary visit turns sour after Huda puts Reem in a shameful situation, and blackmails her to work for the secret service of the occupiers, hence betraying her people.
Written and directed by Hany Abu-Assad, Huda’s Salon stars Ali Suliman, Manal Awad and Maisa Abd Elhadi. The film is produced by H&A Production (Hany Abu-Assad and Amira Diab), Film Clinic (Mohamed Hefzy) and co-produced by Mad Solutions (Maher Diab and Alaa Karkouti), and Lagoonie Film Production (Shahinaz El Akkad), while Daniel Ziskind of Film Clinic is the film’s co-producer. The film is also co-produced by Key Films, Cocoon and Philistine Films. Memento International handles worldwide distribution, while Mad Solutions and Lagoonie Film Production handle the film’s distribution across the Arab world.
Hany Abu-Assad’s filmography includes several Arab films that gained international recognition, such as Paradise Now (2005), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, and Omar (2013) received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 2017, Abu-Assad directed The Mountain Between Us, starring Kate Winslet and Idris Elba, which opened the 39th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF).
