''Personal Affairs'' (, ) is a 2016 Israeli

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

, the directorial debut of Nazareth-born Palestinian

Maha Haj Maha Haj (Arabic: مها حاج; born in 1970) film director and screenwriter. Life and career Haj was born in Nazareth. She was educated in the Baptist Christian school in Nazareth, though both her parents were communist activists. Under her ...

. She was also the screenwriter for the film. ''Personal Affairs'' was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section at the

2016 Cannes Film Festival The 69th Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 22 May 2016. Australian filmmaker George Miller (filmmaker), George Miller was the president of the jury for the main competition. French actor Laurent Lafitte was the host for the opening and ...

Plot

The members of a Palestinian family are dispersed between Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories, and Europe. The elderly parents live in

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

. The husband, Salah, keeps occupied with his laptop computer and does not interact with his wife, Nabila, who occupies her time with cooking, knitting and watching television soap operas. "She can barely bring herself to acknowledge her husband’s presence, much to his irritation. Nor can she muster much enthusiasm for joining him on a getaway to Sweden to visit their son Hisham". In Ramallah, Samar, Nabila and Salah's pregnant daughter, cares for Granny, whose dotage is punctuated by brief moments of reflection. Meanwhile, Samar's husband, George, a mechanic, finds himself cast in an American movie after visiting filmmakers turn up at his garage. The opportunity affords him permission to go to Haifa — where he sees the Mediterranean for the first time. Another son, Hisham, has relocated to Stockholm, putting himself at an even greater remove from his family and origins. He pressures Tariq, his brother, to visit their parents and convince them to take a trip to Sweden to see him. Tariq states that he moved to Ramallah to get away from the parents and their unhappiness, but agrees to a short visit. Back in Ramallah, Samar is critical of his unwillingness to marry and settle down. "Between check-points and dreams, frivolity and politics, some want to leave, others want to stay but all have personal affairs to resolve."

Cast

* Amer Hlehel as George * Doraid Liddawi as Tareq * Zidane Awad as Saeed * Mahmoud Shawahdeh as Salah * Saana Shawahdeh as Nabila *

Maisa Abd Elhadi Maisa Abd Elhadi (; born 15 November 1985) is a Palestinian-Israeli actress known for her roles in award-winning and critically acclaimed films including '' 3000 Nights'' (2015), '' Tel Aviv on Fire'' (2018), '' The Reports on Sarah and Saleem'' ...

as Maisa * Hanan Hillo as Samar *

Ziad Bakri Ziad Bakri () is a Palestinian actor and filmmaker. He is the son of film director Mohammad Bakri, and brother of actors Saleh Bakri Saleh Bakri (, ; born 1977) is a Palestinian actor. He began his career in the theater. He is the son of acto ...

as Hisham * Jihan Dermelkonian as the grandmother

Awards and nominations

* October 2016:

Haifa International Film Festival The Haifa International Film Festival () is an annual film festival that takes place every autumn (between late September and late October), during the week-long holiday of Sukkot, in Haifa, Israel. History The festival was inaugurated in 1983 an ...

: the Haifa Cultural Fund Award for Best Feature Film (the festival's top prize), award of NIS 100,000 * October 2016: 38th Cinemed Film Festival in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

BNP Paribas BNP Paribas (; sometimes referred to as BNPP or BNP) is a French multinational universal bank and financial services holding company headquartered in Paris. It was founded in 2000 from the merger of two of France's foremost financial instituti ...

Critics' Prize, award of 2,000 Euro * October 2016:

Philadelphia Film Festival The Philadelphia Film Festival is a film festival founded by the Philadelphia Film Society held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The annual festival is held at various theater venues throughout the Greater Philadelphia Area. Overview The annual ...

: the Archie Award for Best First Feature

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Personal Affairs 2016 films 2016 drama films 2016 directorial debut films Israeli drama films 2010s Arabic-language films 2010s Hebrew-language films 2016 multilingual films Israeli multilingual films Arabic-language Israeli films