Donkey Boys

Cannes Docs

Donkey Boys

Original title: فتية الحمير

Directed by: Ahmad Al-Bazz

Produced by: Ameen Nayfeh (Odeh Films, Palestine), Paul Cadieux (Megafun Productions Inc, Canada)

Country of production: Palestine, Canada

Runtime: 70'

Expected release: Late 2022

Production stage: Post Production

Budget: € 250,000 (50% in place)

1st feature: Yes

Looking for: Festivals, buyers

Synopsis:

Donkey Boys is a humorous, intimate look at daily life in the West Bank, seen through the eyes of a young activist and veterinary student. Mounes and his friends are on a mission to create the greatest donkey tour Palestine has ever seen. It’s a terrible business idea and destined for failure, but, like their stubborn donkeys, our heroes defiantly persevere in the face of economic and political obstacles.

Director’s profile:

Ahmad Al-Bazz, born in 1993, is a multi-award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker based in the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestine. Ahmad holds an MA degree in Film and Television Studies and Creative Practice from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom (2018), and a BA degree in Media and Mass Communication from An-Najah National University in Palestine (2014). Since 2012, Ahmad has been a member of the Activestills documentary photography collective.

Producers’s profile:

Born in Palestine in 1988. Despite an early interest in filmmaking, in 2010 he earned his B.Sc. in Nursing from Al-Quds University. Two years later, he earned an MFA in film production from the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts in Jordan with the goal of being able to tell authentic stories from his region. Beside writing and directing award winning short films, in 2020 Ameen Finished his first feature narrative 200 Meters starring Ali Suliman. Which premiered in the 77th Venice Film Festival and won the BNL people’s Choice Award at the Venice Days competition. The film was also Jordan’s official submission to the Oscars 2021. So far the film had won a total of 20 international film awards.