a production of Philistine Films (Palestine)/Lamma Shoftak (Jordan)
When I Saw You (لما شفتك)
Produced by Ossama Bawardi
Written & Directed by Annemarie Jacir
Philistine Films aka Lamma Shoftak LLC. was founded in 1997, an independent production company, focusing on productions related to the Arab world. Productions include like twenty impossibles – which was an Academy awards qualifier and is cited as one of the most successful short Arab films to date, and which was an Official Selection of the Cannes International Film Festival winning more than 15 prizes at film festivals across the globe, and the documentary Until When, an in-depth portrait of the lives of several families living in the Deheisha refugee camp. Philistine Films co-produced the feature film Salt of this Sea making it their second film to debut as an Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival. The film won 17 international prizes and has since been sold to more than 30 countries and has been theatrically released across Europe, Asia and other parts of the world. Most recently, Philistine Films produced When I Saw You, Annemarie Jacir’s second feature film.
Philistine Films was created to support new voices and to offer a platform for the emerging independent Arab film scene. Our focus is on development and co-production of independent feature and documentary films and finding unconventional stories and fresh narratives. We hope to challenge the creative, financial, and practical obstacles confronting filmmakers working outside the mainstream. Philistine Films is known for an interest in challenging, thought-provoking and original movies from filmmakers with distinctive visions, and has established itself at the forefront of independent cinema in the region, producing films for both the large and small screen. Philistine’s movies have been Official Selections of the Cannes film festival twice, screened in Venice, Berlin, Toronto and Tribeca, a finalist for an Academy Award, as well as more than three hundred other festivals and numerous awards.
