Beiruti mentions “Huda Salon”

The movie “Huda’s Salon” (91 d – 2021) by Palestinian director Hani Abu Assad (1960) received a special mention from the jury of the “Beirut International Women’s Film Festival”, which concluded its fifth session last Thursday. This came at a time when the tape, co-starring Ali Suleiman, Manal Awad, Maysa Abdel-Hadi and others, was subjected to a wide campaign of criticism that has not subsided yet. There were those who denounced its inclusion of scenes described as “pornographic,” while others saw in it what they considered “a lack of concern for educating citizens, but rather an attempt to distort the struggles of Palestinian women.” Comments divided public opinion on social media, between supporters of and opponents of the work. Note that its makers removed the controversial scene from the version dedicated to the Arab world.

the work It is taken from real events, and delves into the concepts of loyalty, betrayal and freedom, through events that take place in a hairdressing shop in Bethlehem, owned by a woman named “Huda”. A young mother named “Reem” visits him to change her haircut; Things are turned upside down when they are filmed in “makhla” places because of “Huda” who is dealing with the Israeli occupation and who is trying to blackmail her into doing what is against her principles. Thus, Reem must choose between her “honor” and betrayal of her country.
Noting that the film recently opened the PalestineReel Film Festival, and also got its first Arab screening at the Red Sea International Film Festival, and the audience was able to watch it within the forty-sixth session of the “Toronto International Film Festival” last September (Platform section).