Actor: Yumna Marwan

Costa Brava, Lebanon

Members of a family quit the polluted, rubbish-strewn city of Beirut for an idyllic mountain home. However, their dreams of a utopian existence are shattered by the construction of a landfill on the boundary of their land.

The Strangers' Case

Over four centuries ago, William Shakespeare collaborated with others on a play about the historical figure Sir Thomas More. In it, he wrote a speech in which More passionately articulates a defence of refugees, culminating in a poignant reference to their plight. Fast-forward to the present: Aleppo, in the midst of the Syrian civil war. Amira, a paediatric surgeon, performs a life-saving operation during the darkest days of the conflict. Through an unexpected twist of fate, she and her daughter become central characters in a dangerous tale that intricately interweaves the lives of five families spanning four continents and redefines all of their existences. Versions of this story continue to repeat themselves over the centuries. For this reason, Shakespeare aptly named this plight “The Strangers’ Case”.

Inshallah a Boy

A widow pretends to be pregnant with a son in order to save her daughter and home from a relative exploiting Jordan’s patriarchal inheritance laws. This thriller from the Cannes Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival is Jordan’s Official Entry for Best International Film at the Academy Awards.

The Translator

A Syrian exile living in Australia returns when his brother is taken into custody by the Assad regime in 2011.

Haifa Street

2006, Baghdad is ravaged by sectarian violence. Haifa Street is the epicenter of the conflict. Ahmed gets dropped off there by a taxi on his way to his beloved Suad's home to ask for her hand for marriage, he gets shot by Salam, a sniper who's living his own personal hell on a rooftop above.