PERSONAL AFFAIRS

In Nazareth, an old couple lives wearily to the rhythm of the daily routine. On the other side of the border, in Ramallah, their son Tarek wishes to remain an eternal bachelor, their daughter is about to give birth while her husband lands a movie role and the grandmother loses her head... Between check-points and dreams, frivolity and politics, some want to leave, others want to stay but all have personal affairs to resolve.

“Actually what inspired to begin work on this film me was the location. Four years ago I went to northern Sweden in January to a cabin on a lake inside a forest. The lake was frozen and everything was white and deadly calm. I thought to myself, if my parents, who were married for over 50 years, could come to this beautiful place one day and stay there for a week, alone and away from the noise of their hometown Nazareth… What would they do? I went back home with that question and that specific notion and image, and started the process of writing my screenplay.“

Maha Haj for Festival-Cannes.com