HRWFF Special Guests

Come join us tonight at the TIFF Bell Lightbox for our screening of Director Susan Youssef’s “Habibi”! Co-presented with the Toronto Palestine Film Festival, Habibi follows the tragic romance of Layla (Maisa Abd Elhadi) and Qays (Kais Nashef), university students whose blossoming passion is interrupted when they are forced to return home to their families, their student visas having been revoked during the latest wave of restrictions. As Qays is too poor to convince Layla’s middle-class family that he can provide for her, the young lovers are trapped between two fires: the physical barriers of political oppression and the restrictive, patriarchal ideology of the oppressed themselves. Habibi portrays the reality of the Palestinian occupation with acute intelligence, and boldly proposes that emancipation begins with the individual.

The screening will be introduced by Human Rights Watch Researcher for the Middle East and North Africa Division, Bill Van Esveld, followed by a brief introduction from actress Maisa Abd Elhadi who plays “Layla” in the film.

Buy your tickets online at tiff.net, over the phone at 416-599-TIFF (8433) or in person at the TIFF Bell Lightbox! The film starts at 8 so don’t miss it!