MEDITERRANEAN FEVER
2022, dir. Maha Haj
Palestine, Germany, France, Cyprus, Qatar, 108 min.
In Arabic with English subtitles

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE 58TH CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Director Maha Haj in person!

In this wry, absurdist tale of mid-life restlessness, husband and father Waleed dreams of becoming a successful novelist yet is plagued by a severe case of writer’s block. Neither his therapist nor his family are able to offer much support, but when he forges an unlikely connection with his new neighbor, petty criminal Jalal, his fortunes seem to shift. Under the auspices of research for his next novel, Waleed tags along with Jalal on his illicit daily routine, leading to a series of fraught situations that find Waleed out of his depth. Featuring a winsome winsome lead performance from Amer Hlehel and a dry, hilarious script, Mediterranean Fever is a sly, charming story of friendship and personal crisis told with a melancholic wit reminiscent of The Sopranos.