Men in the Sun: A recent clash between Hamas and Israel, followed by a fight in Gaza, seemed like it could mess up a film about Palestinian refugees in Athens. Those working on the project got worried.
Despite the troubles that caused more than 1,200 deaths in Israel and over 15,500 in Palestine, the impact on filming the joint Palestine/U.K./Greece and European project “Men in the Sun” has been real. The project, set to finish funding at the Red Sea Film Festival this week, is still on track to finish everything in London by May next year. The plan is to premiere it at a big international film festival, as mentioned by producer Geoff Arbourne.
Men in the Sun
“There was concern when the conflict started, but in the end, the production, which began five weeks ago, was only delayed by a day,” shared Arbourne with Variety at the festival. More info about Men in the Sun, which is about Palestinian refugees in Greece, in Red Sea Festival set to close financing.
He added, “We started shooting in Athens a week ago and will finish by mid-December. After that, we’ll do the finishing touches in London.”
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The movie, directed by Mahdi Fleifel from Dubai, is about two Palestinian refugees in Athens caught up in a hostage situation while trying to get back at people who cheated them. Fleifel got the idea from a decade of documenting the lives of refugees on the edges of Greek society.
The film, set to be released under a still-to-be-decided name, has support from ARTE/ZDF, the Doha Film Institute, Red Sea Fund, and national funds in the Netherlands and Greece.
With just about ,000 left from its slightly over million budget, Arbourne is confident they’ll close funding this week in Jeddah.
“We have eight minutes of the film to show to potential buyers. We’re talking to global sales agents like Goodfellas and MK2, and distributors in the MENA region, like CineWaves and Front Row, to finalize the money,” he explained. More info about Men in the Sun, which is about Palestinian refugees in Greece, in Red Sea Festival set to close financing.
Even though the Gaza conflict didn’t stop the project, it affected the Palestinian members of the cast and crew personally. Arbourne said, “Because of the war, we had trouble getting some crew and non-actors to Athens. For those who came, the conflict is a daily thing. We have people on set with family in Gaza who are going through a tough time during this war.”
He emphasized the need to be understanding on set and provide support for those affected, giving them a space to talk about what’s happening. More info about Men in the Sun, which is about Palestinian refugees in Greece, in Red Sea Festival set to close financing.
Despite the film touching on two political topics — refugees and the tough situation of Palestinians — Arbourne wants it to tell a broader story about life for people living far from their home country. He said, “I don’t see this as just a ‘Palestinian’ film; it’s a film about people living away from home in general.
The world is facing this issue — from Ukraine to Palestine. What the audience really wants is to understand what it’s like for people who live far from where they belong.”
