Project Detail

Mesocafe

John Batten

Synopsis

With its Arab, Assyrian, Jewish and Kurdish heritage, the Iraqi community of London forms a backdrop for the story of Bisan and Yusif as they negotiate a courtship in the run-up to the 2003 war.

Yusif is an underground blogger opposing the regime of Saddam Hussain from within Iraq. He arrives in London in February 2003 with a view to helping highlight the brutality of this regime and the painful consequences upon the Iraqi nation of UN imposed economic sanctions. He dreams of a liberated homeland. Yusif's short stay in London brings him into contact with an array of individuals from the vibrant community: There is Zaynab - owner of Mesocafe and purveyor of advice for marriage and love, and for work and business. There is Tawfiq, a young Iraqi refugee spending the little money he has on phone cards calling his wife in Syria; there is Suad, a successful PR executive unable to come to terms with the death of her young husband at the end of the 1991 war; and there is the beautiful Bisan who, in between translating books from Arabic to English, relives her childhood memories Iraq.

Details

Year: 2010
Type of project: Features
Running time: 100 mins
Format: Super 16mm
Director: Ja'far 'Abd al-Hamid 1st Feature
Producer: Paul Hills
Editor: Schuman Hoque
Screenwriter: Ja'far 'Abd al-Hamid
Director of Photography: Alessio Valori
Production Designer: Daniel Nussbaumer
Sound: Axle Cheeng
Composer: Natalie Holt
Principal cast: Nasri Sayegh, Daphne Alexander, Ahlam 'Arab, Adam Dahrouge, Houda Echouafni, Zain al-Janabi, Khalid Laith, Andy Lucas, Raad Rawi, Kawa Rasul, Julian Boote

Genre

Drama

Production Status

Complete

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