“The Dreamers,” one of the series to be presented at Series Mania’s Co-Pro Pitching Sessions, is a 10-part crime comedy produced by prominent Israeli filmmaker Shlomi Elkabetz (“Gett”) and Galit Cachlon at Deux Beaux Garcons Films.
Produced for Israeli cable TV operator HOT, the series will be directed by Maysaloun Hamoud, a young Hungarian-born Palestinian filmmaker who made her feature debut with “In Between” (“Bar Bahar) which had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.
Expanding on the plot of “In Between.” ”The Dreamers” follows Warda, Kais and Salah, three Palestinian roommates who came to Tel Aviv to fulfill their parent’s dreams, only to quickly discover their own. Warda came to Tel Aviv to work at her father’s accounting firm but quickly abandoned and signed up for acting school. Kais came to study accounting and business management but got sidetracked after discovering Tel Aviv’s nightlife. Salah was kicked out of his home when he was 16 after his father discovered he was gay. He arrived in Tel Aviv (like many others from the LBGTQ community), where he hopes to become a fashion designer.
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The series will explore the underground Palestinian scene around December 2008, a tense time on Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip. Hamoud said the series will be a “continuation to her film ‘In Between’ and will explore the same characters, but from a different angle, a different beat and a different genre – crime-comedy.”
The director said that in addition to the female point of view that will manifest itself in one of the main characters – Warda (Maisa Abd Elhadi), her desire is “to zoom in on two important issues, including young LGBTQ Palestinians dealing with persecution and oppression, like many other LGBTQ youths.”
She said that being Palestinian adds “another layer that can’t be ignored.”
“The Dreamers” is one of the 16 series projects from 41 different countries which will be pitched at Series Mania Forum, in its banner industry section, the Co-Pro Pitching Sessions, which run for much of the day on March 25.
Series Mania takes place March 22-30.