HOLY AIR
Hawa Moqaddas
Directed by Shady Srour
Israel | 2017 | 81 min | comedy | Arabic, Hebrew, English, French, Italian
Adam is a Christian Arab living in Nazareth – member of a vanishing minority within a minority in the Holy Land and the Middle East. His wife Lamia is a strong, beautiful and progressive Arab woman, who runs a foundation for women’s rights. When Adam hears that Lamia is pregnant and his father falls very ill, he evaluates his life and realizes that he has not achieved much. Despite all his business ideas failing so far, he gives one last try to make it big. And what’s better to sell in the Holy Land other than the very air that Virgin Mary breathed during her annunciation?
But in order to, as one priest tells Adam during confession, bring such product into the market he needs to find allies from the three cultures ruling over Nazareth – the Jewish politicians, the Muslim mafia boss and the Catholic church officials. In a politically unstable world where religion is just another merchandise, can the Holy Air be Adam’s salvation or is it just an illusion?
Cast & Crew
Director: Shady Srour
Screenplay: Shady Srour
Cinematography: Daniel Miller
Editing: Naaman Bishara
Cast: Shady Srour (Adam), Laetitia Eido (Lamia), Shmulik Calderon (Priest Roberto), Tarik Copti (Adam’s Father), Dalia Okal (Widad), Byan Anteer (Mohamed)
Producers: Ilan Moskovitch (Tree M Productions), Shady Srour (Cinema Virgin)
Shady SrourIsrael
Festivals & Awards
Jerusalem Film Festival Israeli First Film – FIPRESCI Prize
Tribeca Film Festival
Sydney Film Festival
Israeli Film Festival in Australia
Warsaw Film Festival
International Mediterranean Film Festival
Geneva International Film Festival
FilmFestival Cottbus
Ljubljana International Film Festival
Cinedays Festival
UK Jewish Film Festival
Kerala Film Festival
Bristol Palestine Film Festival in the UK
press quotes
Humor in “Holy Air” is inseparable from its poignancy. Srour’s subtly crafted film unfolds as a memorable and confidently imagined human comedy.
The Hollywood Reporter
Energy and focus. (…) A combination of wry humour and strong sense of place.
Screen International
