Transit Cities


Transit Cities [Mudon Al Tranzit]

2010 | 35 mm | 71 min | drama, family

Jordan
 
Original language: Arabic 
 
a film by Mohammad Al Hushki
 
 
         Transit cities is about Laila Kamel Abdel Hameed who stands alone by the luggage conveyer belt at the Queen Alia International airport in Amman. While she knows for a fact by now that they lost her bags on the way, she does not move; it has been 14 years since she last saw her family, and now she is not confident that her family would accept her sudden return.
         Saba Mubarak is Laila, a thirty-something year old woman who is running away from a bad marriage, and a life of disconnection and emptiness. She simply wants her old world back in Amman/Jordan.But fourteen years have managed to change everything, especially her estranged father (Mohammad Qabbani), an old broken down leftist politician and idealist; she desperately tries to connect with him, but he is in a different world now. He has surrendered to change and to his sadness and frustration at losing all that he once lived for, and for losing his only friend and daughter who left him fourteen years ago. Her mother (Shafiqa Al Til) has become a different woman. Her younger sister (new comer Manal S’heimat) has grown up and is now taking care of her family, while her aunt (Haifa Al Agha) is completely disconnected from reality.  Even her only friend Rabee (Ashraf Farah) surrendered a long time ago to the status quo despite his nostalgia for the old days.
         Unannounced and uninvited, Laila’s attempts to construct a new life turn out to be much harder than she thought. Her simple old town is now a complex entity. Searching for a job, restoring friendships and dealing with a city that is being torn apart by forces of religion from the right and globalization from the left… all that forces her to question her ability to survive in this place.
        But if she does not belong here, and she doesn’t belong there, where will home be now?
        Can she survive in this new city… or will she have to go back where she came from…
        Yet if home is not there nor here, where is it?
           In seven days she needs to make a decision… 

 

Film Details: 

 
Director: Mohammad Al Hushki 
Production: Royal Film Commission 
Producer(s): Rula Nasser 
Executive Producer(s): Mohannad Bakri, George David 
Screenwriter: Ahmad Ameen, Mohammed Al Hushki 
Director of Photography: Mahmoud Lofti 
Original Music: Nadim Sarraj 
Film Editor: Eyad Hammam, Mohd Kareem Sheihabi
Cast: Mohammad Al-Qabbani
 
 
Mohammad Al Hushki 
 
 
        One of the promising filmmakers in Jordan took a hard decision and left his career in computer engineering and followed his passion in making films.
Mohammad  since his youngsters was involved in community development projects , and he used filmmaking as tool to empower and advocate social issues , his passion for film drove him to join the Royal film commission of Jordan to implement and manage film clubs outside the city Amman , setting up the project and teaching filmmaking to locals , and help them create their own films and worlds, Meanwhile  he was asked to document  the first RAWI screenwriting lab (in cooperation with the Sundance institute) and this was the click ; he fell in love with the process so much that he decided to write a feature film script to get into the second RAWI lab, and he did with the script he is currently working on “Colored feathers”, which later was selected among 5 script from the Arab world for SUD ECRUTE writing lab as well.
        Mohammad is always looking for good stories, in 2010 he was in workshop with the Royal Film Commission and read a good script written by Ahmad Ameen, he worked with the writer and made his first feature film “Transit cities”, that was supported by the RFC, the film attracted many local Stars and is now on its festival run seeking distribution.
        Mohammad  produced , directed many documentaries , PSAs, corporate videos, and two shorts; his first short documentary was “ life Temporarily “ 2006, then he produced and directed   a short film “the colors of Haram” 2007  which was received very well by local audience and was featured in the first season of a local TV show that showcased the new talents of Jordan. In 2008 he wrote and directed a short fiction film “Butterfly” that won second place at the Franco Arab film festival, and run around many festivals, also Mohammad was part of the creative team of  many films and WebTV projects , his latest documentary  was about “extremism in Yemen”.  

 


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