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BERLEEN_

FILM CLINIC - as SALES All rights / PROD

Action/Adventure - Production 2022

Equipped with a sense of humor, Hana maneuvers her way around the intricate web of people and communities of the Arab Diaspora that constitute the new fabric of the city of Berlin. This all happens against the backdrop of an adventure she throws herself into, helping out an antisocial Iraqi refugee.

- Year of production
- 2022
- Genres
- Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama
- Countries
- EGYPT, GERMANY
- Budget
- 0.6 - 1 M$
- Synopsis
- Searching for a new beginning, Hana, a 29-year-old witty young woman, sets off to Berlin. She maneuvers her way around the intricate web of people and communities that constitute the unique fabric of the rapidly changing city of Berlin, pronounced Berleen in
  Arabic. Mai, her old friend, hosts HANA in her flat temporarily for the summer until HANA decides whether she can or wants to move to Berlin. The two women have a light-hearted attitude, continuously finding humor even in their hardest moments. HANA came to Berlin hoping to overcome a broken heart and the disappointment with the failure of the dream for change in Egypt. MAI has been in Berlin for four years and still struggles to end her dependency on anti-depression meds. Together they try to navigate pain with humor. In true Egyptian fashion, they mask the bitterness of their past under sarcastic jokes and try to fit in. HANA is torn with the idea of staying or leaving, Mai wants her to find a job and settle down in Berlin, HANA still unsure tries to find her own perspective of the city. Eventually, Hana and Mai find themselves involved in matters that seem to be way over their heads. Hana stumbles upon an adventure after accidentally helping Haidar, a mysterious Iraqi stranger in his forties. Hana’s sympathy rises towards Haidar as his story unfolds; his brother left to die in a truck in his attempt to escape Iraq. Together they embark on a journey in the underground communities of Berlin, seeking a gang leader known as (EL CAPITAN). Rumor has it that he is behind the death of HAIDAR's brother a few years back. HAIDAR, HANA, and MAI encounter hordes of different people from several Arab and Middle Eastern countries who have all moved to Berlin and reconstructed portions of their old lives and homelands. Trying to adjust the city to fit their old lives. They come across many artistic, intellectual and absurd characters, from musicians, waiters, professors to thugs and drug dealers, all with an overwhelming past. Despite differences in their social and intellectual backgrounds, all of them share the struggle with nostalgia. They all attempt to carve a place of their own in the new city they want to call home. Should they let go of the past and move on? Or are they recreating their lives back home in Berlin?
- Beginning of shooting
- Jun 01, 2021