NVICinema | A House in Jerusalem

Directed by Muayad Alayan | 2022 | Palestine, UK, Netherlands, Qatar | 104 min | In English and Arabic with Arabic subtitles

‘A story about grief and ghosts’ is how the Palestinian brothers Muayad and Rami’s third feature film was described upon release. Weirdly, that description aptly conveys the content of this fairy tale about a girl named Rebecca who ends up in the Palestinian part of Jerusalem.

Young Rebecca is forced to move with her father from the UK to Jerusalem in the hopes that a new beginning can help her heal from her mother’s sudden death. Soon after settling into an old house in a neighborhood known as the Valley of the Ghosts, a series of mysterious events occur that Rebecca takes the blame for. Diving deep into the mystery of the house and the city of Jerusalem, Rebecca sets out on an enigmatic journey to discover what hides in the shadows of the house.

Muayad Alayan, is a Palestinian film director and producer based in Jerusalem whose award-winning work has been seen by audiences all over the world. He works extensively with youth and community centres and non-governmental organisations on projects promoting cinema culture and infrastructure in Palestine. He also acted as an instructor of directing and cinematography at several academic institutions and has served as a jury member on several international and regional film festivals and funds. “A house in Jerusalem” is Alayan’s first English-language film.

Alayan’s second feature film, “The reports on Sarah and Saleem” (2018), premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, winning the Special Jury Prize of the Hivos Tiger Competition and the Hubert Bals Audience Award. It also received the Best Feature Film Award at the Durban International Film Festival. Alayan’s directorial debut, “Love, Theft and Other Entanglements” (2015), premiered at the Berlinale Panorama and won two Best Arab Narrative Film Awards. Additionally, his first narrative short, “Lesh Sabreen?” (2009), premiered in competition at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.

/// Please note that our library has limited seats and we work on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 6:30PM and the screening starts at 7:00 PM or earlier in case the space reaches its full capacity. Thank you for understanding and see you on Sunday!