Project Detail

Mesocafe

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
Co-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

Categories

Production Status

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

A Talent For Murder A Talent For Murder

Director: Anton Corbijn

Year: 2026

A mysterious young man from a New York publisher is sent to Switzerland to persuade the renowned writer Patricia Highsmith to write one final instalment of the Ripley anthology. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2026 - World Premiere

A man in a suit stands in front of a newspaper printing press Ink

Director: Danny Boyle

Year: 2026

In 1969, as rising media tycoon acquires the daily newspaper "The Sun," his partnership with editor Larry Lamb turns the paper into Britain's most influential tabloid. Official Selection Venice Film Festival 2026 - Opening Gala Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2026

Female character standing in a dimly lit cathedral. My Heart Is Not Mine

Director: Salina Khan

Year: 2026

A hopelessly romantic bisexual author revisits the relationships that shaped his life while reflecting on his autobiographical book My Heart Is Not Mine. Torn between love, faith, and self-worth, he confronts the emotional imprint left by one man and two women who each claimed a piece of a heart that never fully belonged to him.