The Lebanese film Farah ranked eighth in the list of the most watched films on the global Netflix platform in Lebanon, in the first week of its release. It was directed by the duo Hassiba Freiha and Kenton Oxley, starring Stephanie Atta.
On December 10, the film reached the third place, then it ranked fifth for two consecutive days, December 14 and 15, and it is still in the list of the most watched, and this comes after its launch commercially since Thursday, November 24 in its home in the Lebanese theaters, and its shows began in Emirati cinemas since the beginning of this December. .
Since the beginning of his career, Farah has won 4 awards, as he won a special award on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Chelsea Film Festival in the United States of America, and at the Alexandria Film Festival for Mediterranean Countries, the film won the award for best first work, and the Mahmoud Abdel Aziz Award for best artistic direction from the share of Musa Beydoun and Nizar Nassar. It also won the Best Narrative Film Award, as part of the Lebanese Film Festival in Canada, and received its world premiere at the Beirut International Women’s Film Festival. It also participated in the San Diego Arab Film Festival.
Farah received many positive critical acclaims, as critic Mohamed Hijazi wrote, “Farah is a good Lebanese drama. The scenes were smooth, spontaneous and flowing, and the characters successively expressed their characteristics through a bright image and a clear voice.”
As the critic and journalist Khaled Ali wrote about it, “If you are looking for a smart, question-provoking work of art, then you should not miss watching Farah’s movie.”
The events of the film begin when Lina, a pre-med student, begins to suffer from severe recurring nightmares, her life begins to unravel, and then she is forced to return to her homeland, Beirut, Lebanon, and obtain a prescription for the controversial antidepressant Zappa, known in its illegal form as Joy. to help her recover.
Despite this, as Lina’s nightmares take a turn, and the connection to her mother Farah becomes apparent, Lina sets out on a journey to uncover a web of family secrets that will lead her to the ultimate truth.
The film is written by Hassiba Freiha, co-directing the film with Kenton Oxley, starring Stephanie Atta, Magdi Machmouchi, Hassiba Freiha, Youssef Boulos, photography by Elias Trad and editing by Marcus Darcy. MAD Solutions is responsible for the Arab distribution of the film.
Hassiba Freiha is a writer, producer and director. She has worked on dozens of short films, including Temperance, which was screened at the Middle East International Film Festival and the Short Films Corner at the Cannes Film Festival, after which an independent online platform acquired its distribution rights.
Hassiba’s other productions include City Island with Andy Garcia and Alan Arkin, the National Wildlife Federation project Campus Chillout! featuring former Vice President Al Gore, Oscar-winning producer Jeff Skool and Oscar-winning producer Lawrence Bender.
Later, Hassiba produced, starred, and helped direct the film Wahdan, which participated in many international festivals around the world.
In addition to acting in several other short films, she was hired by twofour54, a government-backed media services company, to work as a reservations manager before moving up the ranks to become a department manager. During that time, Hassiba continued to develop her skills in filmmaking and oversaw post-production on two feature films.
Kenton Oxley has built an internationally recognized career in the film and television industry. As a producer and CEO of his production services company, Knockout Production, Kinten has worked on several commercially successful multi-million dollar projects.
Kenten was able to become the youngest director for ITV when he was twenty years old, worked with the governments of Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates, and headed the production and international trade department at twofour54 for six years. Kenten has gained a wealth of experience from international acts such as Top Bang Bang, Left Bank Pictures, and Gear.