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Passion

بـاب المقــام

Passion (Bab el Maqam)

Iman (Salwa Jamil), a devoted Umm Kulthoum fan, lives in Aleppo with her taxi driver husband and daughters, and her brother Rashid's daughter, Jumanah, She feels that she owes it to Rashid, a political prisoner, to make it as a singer; meanwhile, her uncle, nephews and even her brother spy on her, sure that her passion for singing is proof that she is having an affair.
Inspired by a newspaper announcement and set against the backdrop of the 2003 Syrian elections, with streets filled with demonstrators against the American Invasion of Iraq, Mohamed Malas's film is an intense and extraordinary study of contemporary Syrian society.

fiction, Mohamad Malas, Syria 2004, color, 100 minutes, Arabic with Engl., French or Ital. ST
Director Mohammad Malas | Producers Ahmed B E Attia, Febienne Servan Schreiber, Intissar Safia | Scriptwriter Khaled Khalife | Cinematographer Tarek Ben Abdallah | Editor Kahena Attia | Composer Marcel Khalife | Cast Mahmoud Hamed, Naceur Ouerdiani, Oussama S Youssef, Salwa Jamil, Yara Chakra

voices about the film
Remarkable (Austin Film Society – Essential Cinema)
PASSION is one of the exquisite and powerful films I have seen in my recent memory. I admire the poise, patience, and elegance with which you have told Imene's story. (Hamid Dabashi)

WINNER — Special Jury Award, Marrakech International Film Festival




Press Kit

Passion_engl.pdf