Cinema of the World

FARHA

Director : Darin J.Sallam
Country : Jordan, Sweden, Saudi Arabia
Language : English, Arabic, Hebrew
Duration : 92 minutes
Year : 2021

Cinema of the World

Synopsis

Farha is a 14 year old girl who lives in a small village in Palestine, 1948. Girls her age are traditionally married off or spoken for yet Farha wants to continue her education despite traditions and the restrictions of schooling in her village for boys only. Inseparable from her best friend Farida, who lives in the city but who spends weekends in the village, Farha dreams of joining her at a school in the city. Life in the village is threatened and aggressively changed by the looming danger. Just when Farha’s father is finally convinced and Farha’s dream is at last coming true, the danger comes closer to their village. As violence escalates, Farha is brutally separated from Farida. Terrorized for his daughter’s safety and fearing for her life, Farha’s father locks her up in a concealed, small food storage space by the house, promising to return. But he never does. Over the course of the next few days, Farha undergoes a life-changing experience while buried in the tight dark space, her only connection to the outside world is a small hole in the wall and a few cracks in the wooden door. Farha witnesses a lot of events, outside and inside the room, setting off her journey of transformation and forcing her to grow up and leave her childhood behind.

Darin J.Sallam

Director

“Darin J. Sallam (born 1987) is a Jordanian film director and writer. She has five award-winning short films to her name, including Still Alive and The Dark Outside. Farha (2021) is her debut narrative feature film as director.

She graduated from the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts (RSICA) with a MFA in Cinematic Arts.”

Cast

– Karam Taher
– Ashraf Barhom
– Ali Suliman

Crew

– Director: Darin J. Sallam
– Producer: Deema Azar, Ayah Jardaneh
– Editor: Pierre Laurent
– Writer: Darin J. Sallam
– Dop: Rachel Aoun
– Sound: Cherif Allam, Rana Eid
– Music: Nadim Mishlawi