YALLAH, YALLAH, BEENAH!
Genre
Experimental
Running time
19 minutes
Year
2022
Language
Arabic
Subtitle
English
Country
Saudi Arabia
Director
Mohammed Hammad
Bio
Producer
Nouhad Hachicho, Mohammed Hammad, Mohammed Jastaniah
Cast
Jameel Ayyach, Elias Sultan
Scriptwriter
Mohammed Hammad
Away we go down the rabbit hole into a fun fantasy. A film junkie, whose house is a shrine to cinema, revels in describing his wares to a documentary film crew when presto, we find ourselves slipping through a wormhole. In a parallel universe, a gang of pre-teen kids are sent on a psychedelic mission to save humanity and escape the spell laid on them by a coven of witches. This film is supported by the Red Sea Fund.
Other movies
GIRL
Director: Shu Qi
Superstar Shu Qi, icon of Asian cinema and muse of Hou Hsiao-hsien, makes her directorial debut with this self-penned, deeply personal coming-of-age drama. In a cramped home ruled by abuse, young teenager Lin Xiaoli keeps her head down, caring for her little sister while her father’s drunken rages cascade into her mother’s cruelty. Everything shifts when she befriends Li Lili, a rebellious classmate who skips class, smokes and urges Xiaoli to challenge the family’s toxic status quo. As escape glimmers, Shu Qi films with poised restraint, observing at a remove and tuning the viewer to intimate, everyday textures with a quietly harrowing strength. Tender yet unsentimental, Girl finds fragile beauty amid hurt and announces a formidable new directorial voice.
SIRÂT
Director: Oliver Laxe
‘Sirat’ is a term referring to the treacherous bridge between heaven and hell. Oliver Laxe’s film is certainly an odyssey and a sonic spectacular: his hypnotic rhythms carve a path for this temporal road movie in which Sergi López plays a father who has taken his son to search for their daughter/sister, missing in Morocco’s nomadic and quasi-feral rave scene. With an apocalypse taking place offscreen, the protagonist flees across a mythical landscape with a crew of non-professional actors. Sirât glimmers between sound and fury, pounds between loss and unfathomable grief, and leads audiences to what feels like the end of creation. Spain’s Oscar entry and 2025 Cannes jury prize winner is that rare cinematic achievement: an indelible gift of sound and vision. "This film contains scenes that may be considered sensitive for some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised"