Palestinian Animation Film The Tower Screens At Manarat Al Saadiyat In UAE

Directed by Mats Grorud, Palestinian animation film The Tower will screen at Manarat Al Saadiyat in UAE, on Wednesday, October 20th, at 5:00 PM. The film’s screening will be held at the Arab Animation, an event organized by MAS MASH to celebrate the Arab animation. The Tower previously won a number of international awards in its world tour festivals.

MAS MASH brings together animators, performers, studios and illustrators to showcase and celebrate Arab animation. The event will include unique talks, award winning animation screenings, workshops, merchandise and showcases, providing a holistic look into the field as both a practice and form of cultural expression.

The Tower received seven awards from prestigious international film festivals, including; the Liv Ullmann Peace Prize and the Professional Jury: 2nd Prize for Best Animated Feature Film at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival; the Jury Special Award and the Best Soundtrack Award at the Lisbonne Monstra Lisboa Animation Festival; the Jury Award at the Festival International du Film d'Histoire de Pessac; the Secondary School Students Prize at the Festival International des Arts Jeune Public; and Best Editing at the Kosmorama Trondheim International Film Festival in Trondheim in Norway. The film was nominated for two AMANDA awards in Norway presented by the Norwegian International Film Festival and the Norwegian Film Institute.

The film follows Wardi, an eleven-year-old Palestinian girl, who lives with her family in the refugee camp where she was born. She learns about her family's history through stories recounted to her by three earlier generations of refugees.

Written and directed by Mats Grorud, The Tower features the voices of Laila Najjar, Makram J. Khoury, Mohamed Bakri, Mouna Hawwa, Morad Hassan, Hanan Hilow, Saleh Bakri, and Shaden Kanboura. The crew also includes Ahlam Canaan; the Director of Arabic Dubbing, Sound Engineer and Adaptation. The film is a French- Swedish-Norwegian co-production that is distributed in the Arab world by MAD Solutions.