Critics Week · 46th Edition
Habibi Hussein
Director
Alex Bakri
Country
Palestine, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Sweden
Runtime
1 h 36 min
Language
Arabic
Premiere
MENA premiere (Middle East and North Africa)
Synopsis
Hussein Darby, the last projectionist of Cinema Jenin in Palestine, thought it was a golden opportunity. When a German NGO arrived to restore the theater, Hussein was eager to prove his skills, hoping it would help him reclaim his old job. To revive the 50-year-old projector, he travels across the West Bank and even attempts to cross into Israel. But he doesn’t realize that his era has already faded.
Cast
Hussein Darby
Screenplay
Alex Bakri
Producers
May Odeh
About the Director
Alex Bakri is a Palestinian filmmaker active in various fields including cinematography, acting, and editing. Over the past decade, he has worked extensively as an editor on numerous feature documentaries such as the Academy Award–nominated Of Fathers and Sons (2017). In addition, he has served as cinematographer on several short films. As an actor, he appeared in Eran Kolirin’s Let It Be Morning (2021) and Elia Suleiman’s The Time That Remains (2009). Habibi Hussein is his first feature-length documentary as a director.
Screenings