Soula
Spring Grants 2021 - Post-Production Stage
Salah Issaad / Feature Narrative / Algeria, France, Italy, Qatar / 90 min / Original Language: Arabic, French / Interests: Women, Drama, Road Trip, Social Issues, Based on a True Story
Synopsis
Soula, a young single mother, is rejected by her family in the name of honour. Having nowhere to go when her father throws her out of her home, she calls upon many friends and relatives for help. As she embarks on a tumultuous 14-hour long journey, Soula’s sole goal is to spare her baby daughter her pain and struggles. But everything and everyone around her represents a potential threat, and the line is often blurry between those who want to help her and those who pull her further into a spiral of violence. From Batna to Annaba, the young woman hops from one car to another, swaying in-between moments of exhilarating relief and banality with friends and moments of great angst and solitude. Against a backdrop of soothing landscapes, in a dystopic yet breathtaking road trip, Soula heads towards her inevitable destiny.
Credits
- Director
- Salah Issaad
- Screenwriter
- Salah Issaad with the participation of Soula Bahri
- Producer
- Salah Issaad, Abdelghafour Issaad, Taki Issaad
- Production Company
- Issaad Film Productions
About the Director
Born in 1989 in Arris in Algeria, to an Algerian mother and a Tunisian father, Salah Issaad was raised in a family of publishers. After a baccalaureate (High school degree) in letters and foreign languages in 2008, he entered the law school of Batna in Algeria, then emigrated to France where he studied film studies for two years at the University of Paris VIII. Alternating professional life and studies, he joined the ARFIS audiovisual school in Lyon. Then, he ended up joining the Factory school in Villeurbanne, where he obtained his cinema director diploma. He has made a feature film and several short films. He has always been pushed by the passion of telling stories where human relationships are honoured. He explores different narrative forms and various film genres like drama, tragedy, stories inspired by real facts, and comedy.