'Upshot' has won a slew of awards, including the Golden Pardino and Independent Youth Jury awards at the 77th Locarno Film Festival, the Best Film Award at Sharjah Film Festival, and the Golden Star Award at El Gouna Film Festival.
Palestinian featurette Upshot by Maha Haj has been selected as the opening film for the 35th edition of the Carthage Film Festival. The festival runs from December 14 to 21, in Tunisia.
Upshot is set against the backdrop of Gaza’s enduring strife and 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. Director Maha Haj weaves a world where her characters escape pain and loss through the alchemy of storytelling. They concoct a parallel reality free of pain; but when a journalist intrudes upon their sanctuary, wielding the blunt force of truth, the fragile illusion they’ve constructed threatens to unravel.
A Palestinian-French-Italian co-production, Upshot stars renowned Palestinian actors Mohammed Bakri, Areen Omari, and Amer Hlehel. The film is lensed by Augustin Bonnet and edited by Veronique Lange with production design handled by Saher Dwairy. Upshot is produced by Ramallah-based company August Films, and is being distributed worldwide by MAD World, and in all Arabic-speaking territories by MAD Distribution.
Before heading to Carthage, Upshot held a phenomenal world premiere at the celebrated 77th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland; where it won the Golden Pardino award, as part of the Corti d’Autore Competition, as well as the Independent Youth Jury Award. It also recently won the Best Film Award at the Sharjah Film Festival, the Audience Award at the FrontDoc Film Festival in Italy, and the top prize— a Golden Star Award— in the Short Films competition at Egypt’s esteemed El Gouna Film Festival.
The Carthage Film Festival (|Journées Cinématographiques de Carthage, JCC) is one of the most prestigious film festivals in Africa and the Arab world. Founded in 1966 in Tunis, Tunisia, it has become a significant cultural and cinematic event celebrating diverse storytelling from across Africa, the Arab world, and beyond.
