In a busy, noisy, high-traffic street in Alexandria, Egypt, a seemingly vacant corner lot surrounded by chain link fencing is the training site of Egypt’s most elite champions – female weightlifters. Zebiba (Arabic for “raisin”) has been training at the site for five years. She has been training there since she was nine, following in the footsteps of Egypt’s most famous female athletes of all time: Abeer Abdel Rahman and Nahla Ramadan. Nahla’s father, Captain Ramadan, has bred champions for over two decades. Now it is Zebiba’s turn! Would Zebiba put aside her youthful instincts, and direct her focus to be the weightlifting champion the Captain is sure she is?

AWARDS
Golden Dove Award for Best Film in German competition in Dok Leipzig 2020 / Bronze Pyramid Award for Best First or Second Work in Cairo International Film Festival 2020 / sis Award for Best Egyptian Film in Aswan Women Film Festival 2021.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Mayye Zayed is an Egyptian filmmaker and the founder of Cléo Media for production and impact distribution in Alexandria. After her studies in Egypt and in the US, and being recipient for numerous Fellowships, she began filmmaking, producing and editing in 2013 with a collaborative feature: The Mice Room (Dubai FF 2013, Sao Paulo FF 2014). In 2016, she signed the award winning short A Stroll Down Sunflower Lane (Berlinale 2016, Best Experimental Film - Sharjah Film Platform 2019). During 2013-2019, Mayye Zayed co-founded and Worked in Rufy’s Films.

Moving to Beirut’s anarchic rhythm, “Underdown” follows the struggles of a Palestinian cab driver who lives in his car, a homeless Syrian kid and a Lebanese woman with her family. Through a pulsating journey filled with harsh realities and an unbreakable sense of humor, they convey glimmers of hope in the darkest of places.

AWARDS
Special Critic’s Award and ACEC Special Prize at Flight Mostra del Cinema di Genova, Italy (2021) / Best Documentary, Jerusalem Arab Film Festival, Pelestine (2021) / Grand Prix, Mediteran Film Festival, Croatia (2020) / Jury Award, Malmo Arab Film Festival, Sweden (2019)

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Sarah Kaskas is a Lebanese filmmaker, music composer and film educator. In 2016, Sarah co-founded Karaaj Films, an independent production company that focuses on documentaries and fiction films dealing with identity and marginalized communities in Lebanon. Under Karaaj Films, Sarah has written and directed the short documentary “Bread and Tea (2016)” and the feature documentary “Underdown (2018)” - both award winning films selected at festivals such as IDFA (Amsterdam/ Netherlands), EIFF (Edinburgh/ Scotland), DOXA (Vancouver/ Canada) and Mostra (São Paulo). Sarah is currently in post-production of two films that will be released in 2021: “STRUCK” (short documentary) and “The Window” (short fiction). She resides in Beirut, developing her first feature fiction.

The Silence of Others reveals the epic struggle of the victims of Spain’s 40-year dictatorship under General Franco. The victims and survivors that continue to seek justice to this day were filmed for over six years as they organized the groundbreaking “Argentine Lawsuit”. How they fight a state-imposed amnesia of crimes against humanity, and how they explore a country that is still divided four decades even after accessing democracy. The Silence of Others is the second documentary feature from Emmy winning filmmakers Almudena Carracedo & Robert Bahar (Made in L.A.). Executive Produced by Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar and Esther García.

AWARDS
Among the many prices, some prestigious: Goya for best documentary, Spain (2019) / Panorama Documentary Audience Award and Peace Film Prize, Berlinale 2018, Germany / Top 10 Audience Favorite, Hotdocs - Canadian International Documentary Festival / Special Mention of the Jury, Creative Documentary, Geneva International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights.

ABOUT THE DIRECTORS
Born in Madrid, Spain, Almudena developed her professional career in the US. She directed and produced her short documentary Welcome, A Docu-Journey of Impressions, which won Silverdocs’ Sterling Prize, and her debut feature documentary, the Emmy-winning Made in L.A. In 2012, Almudena returned to her hometown in Spain to begin work on The Silence of Others, in collaboration with Robert Bahar.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Robert Bahar lives and works between Madrid, Spain and Brooklyn, New York. He won an Emmy as producer/writer of the documentary Made in L.A. He spearheaded a three-year impact campaign that brought the film to audiences around the world.