Agora Market Manual 2010

Agora/Market Manual - 51st Thessaloniki IFF-2010Crossroads ProjectsSleeping on StonesUSA / PalestineProduced by: BINTFILMDirector: Nicole BallivianScriptwriter: Nicole BallivianProducer:Nagham Osman, Nicole BallivianCo-Producers: Ossama BawardiBudget: 1.500.000 euroLocation: PalestineLooking for:International Co-Producers, FinancingSYNOPSISDuring the 1987 Intifada in Hebron, three 10-year-old boys become the closest of friends. Hamza is a talentedsoccer player and the man of his house. Yousef has a voice for the old Arabic ballads and prays often. Jacob is theson of new American settlers and tracks soccer teams worldwide. A hesitant Jacob joins Hamza and Yousef onthe refugee camp soccer field where the boys play like Real Madrid. Jacob becomes Hamza’s biggest fan onlyafter Yousef, pledging to be part of Hamza’s rise to soccer stardom. Now 17, Jacob becomes an Israeli soldier; hisfather’s dying wish. Yousef prepares to leave for America to escape economic hardship. Hamza is homeless andbarely maintains his dream of being part of the Palestinian National Soccer Team. The three boys’ destinies clashwithin their shared path, finding a fatal outcome in the middle of the road.DIRECTORS’ STATEMENTSleeping on Stones is an epic voyage through the eyes of three boys, with a tone that carries the warm romanticismof the Holy Land. As the boys become young adults, the tone changes, reflecting the texture of the occupationand settlements. The harsh occupation introduces the subdued metallic and sterile world they must struggleunder, where they must survive and make new life choices. The purpose, intent and issue the story tackles ishow such an environment creates the basis for relationships to become malnourished. It dispels the premise ofthe conflict as being one of “Arab versus Jew”.BINTFILMCreated in 2002, BintFilm is a production company dedicated to filmmaking for the mass conscience. BintFilm’sfirst feature film made its first splash on the festival circuit in 2006 with Driving to Zigzigland, a comedy abouta day in the life of a Palestinian cab driver in Los Angeles that has screened at a hundred festivals and wonmultiple awards. BintFilm’s latest Palestinian screenplay, Sleeping on Stones, was selected for the SundanceInstitute - Royal Jordanian Film Commission’s 2nd Middle East Screenwriters Lab in 2006 and was also selectedfor the Mediterranean Films Crossing Borders at Cannes 2007.PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATIONBINTFILMT. +1 3236326965info@bintfilm.comnicole@bintfilm.comwww.bintfilm.com58