'Palestinian 3000 Nights was filmed in a real jail': Director
Ahram Online, , Monday 1 Feb 2016
The director of the Palestinian film 3000 Nights reveals that the film was shot in a real prison


Palestinian director May Masri said her film 3000 Nights, which opened the Luxor Arab and European Film Festival, was shot in a real prison, without any set decor, as a way of preserving the film's authenticity.

At the press conference for the Luxor Arab and European Film Festival held on Sunday morning, Masri added that the jail where they filmed was neither in Palestine nor Jordan.

The film was based on an old story from 1980, where there were jails that kept Israeli women arrested on criminal charges together with Palestinian political prisoners, Masri stated.

Co-produced by Palestine, France, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Lebanon, 3000 Nights centres on a young newly-wed Palestinian school teacher who is jailed in an Israeli top-security prison where she eventually gives birth.

“I am happy with the reception of the film, especially that it presents the Palestinian case in a different light through the character of Leil who (in the film) was arrested and jailed alongside Israelis,” El-Masry said.

The film’s star Anahid Fayad was also present at the press conference.

“It was a great challenge for me, especially as the first cinema role I took on after working in a television drama,” Fayad said.

A number of critics were also present at the conference, including Nader Adly who commended the director for the film, as well as photography director Said Shimi, who admired the film’s cinematography and realism.

The film premiered in September 2015 at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and made its US premiere at Palm Springs International Film Festival in California in January.

It also made its Arab world premiere in December 2015 as part of the Dubai International Film Festival’s 12th edition where it participated in the Muhr Arab Feature Films Competition.

300 Nights will also be featured at the closing ceremony of the 22nd European Film Festival that runs between 25 January and 6 February in Beirut, Lebanon.

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