Upshot
- Maha Haj
- Palestine/Italy/France
- 2024
- 34'
syno
psis
Upshot is an intense and powerful film that deeply engages the viewer. It portrays the daily routine of Lubna and Suleiman, a Palestinian couple who withdraw to an isolated farm, where they devote themselves to working the land and engage in passionate debates about the choices of their five children, until one day a stranger arrives to reveal a heartbreaking truth.
Director's
bio
Maha Haj is a Palestinian director and screenwriter, graduated in English and Arabic literature from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She began her career in cinema as a set designer for The Time That Remains by Elia Suleiman (2009) and The Attack by Ziad Doueiri (2012).
She debuted, as a filmmaker, with Burtuqal (2009) and gained acclaim with Personal Affairs (2016), which premiered at Cannes. Her 2022 film Mediterranean Fever won Best Screenplay at Cannes and was Palestine’s entry for the 2023 Oscars. Her 2024 short Upshot won multiple awards, including the 2025 Audience Award at Clermont-Ferrand and both the Golden Pardino and Young Jury Award at the Locarno Film Festival, where it premiered.