TALLAHASSEE
Cinephilia Productions presents “TALLAHASSEE” A New Yorker Screening Room Film
Directed by Darine Hotait - Written by Hala Alyan - Produced by Ryah Aqel
Starring Hala Alyan and Cherien Dabis with Malek Holloway, Samar El-Zein and Special Guest Samia Halaby
Director of Photography: Kalyn Jacobs
Original score: Tarek Yamani
WATCH HERE
LIKE SALT
“When living in diaspora turns into a boxing match, one learns to fight with bare knuckles. Hala, an Arab American female boxer in NYC, and Kendrick, an African American jazz musician, improvise their way through a passively aggressive America.”
As one of the main characters of this film is a jazz bass player, I approached the score with the theme of low frequency. Also the idea of low register works perfectly with the film’s theme. I also created soundscapes taken from the actual sound of the wood of the acoustic bass.
I SAY DUST
“Two Arab-American women in New York City fall in love, argue home and identity, engage in a chess battle, and express themselves through the power of the spoken word.’I Say Dust’ explores poetry in cinema through the story of Hal, a poet belonging to the Palestinian diaspora in NYC, who meets Moun, a free-spirited chess boards sales girl. Their brief love affair challenges their understanding of what makes home.”
There’s a beautiful poetry scene in this film which was the most challenging to score as I wanted it to sound like it’s an actual performance. The music was composed in a way that resolved with the fluctuations and beats of the poem.
WINNER Best Creative Short at 21st Med Film Festival
WINNER Best Short Fiction at 3rd Herat International Women's Film Festival
WINNER Best Short Fiction, Best in Festival & Audience Award at Border Arts Film Festival (New Mexico)
WINNER Best Short Fiction Special Jury Award at 2nd Women Media Arts & Film Festival
WINNER Jury Special Mention Award at 5th Latin Arab Film Festival
WINNER Jury Special Mention Award at 12th Lebanese Film Festival
Screened at over 75 international film festivals.
Acquired by BBC, Sundance TV, AMC Networks and OSN.
Trailer of a short film I scored the music for & which had its world premiere at the "Montreal World Film Festival 2013".
"Ash" is a short film by Yasmina Hatem & a Cinephilia Productions release.