ALMATY INDIE FILM FESTIVAL

The Delivery

Yazan Al Ghazzawi · 2018

Overview

In a troubled (fictional) Middle Eastern country, the President goes into hiding after receiving numerous threats from a rebel army faction. Mustafa, a delivery man on a tight schedule on the day of his engagement, inadvertently stumbles upon the President’s hiding place – an apartment in a run down corner of the city. He is immediately taken for an assassin, and repeatedly questioned and tortured by the fiercely loyal Captain Amin. Little do both of them know that Mustafa’s appearance is no coincidence at all.

Director Biography — Yazan Al Ghazzawi

Yazan is a film industry professional with over 10 years of experience in the field within the Middle East. Having obtained a Master’s Degree in Cinematic Arts, he has excelled throughout his career in various roles within the film industry, specifically within screenwriting. Yazan has written two feature films, and contributed to the development of scripts for several other successful regional short films, most notably through mentoring students of Imagenation’s Arab Film Studio as well as the Sharjah Arts Foundation’s Screenwriting workshop program.

Yazan is currently the Head of Film at SAE Institute Dubai, where he is responsible for the Bachelor of Film degree and students, as well as the creation and development of film short courses and workshops.

Director Statement

"The Delivery" is a short film almost 2 years in the making - I started writing this film in 2016, when I was watching a news report on the escalating political situation in the Middle East. I remember thinking to myself - it would be really funny if someone who was just randomly going about their day inadvertently caused a massive political upheaval - and that's how the character of Mustafa was born.

I believe that this character represents the average Arab citizen, who has become numb to the failing economic, political and social structures around him and is focused primarily on the job at hand - in Mustafa's case, it's making the deliveries and getting home in time for his engagement.

I feel that comedy and satire are the most effective genres to convey a lasting message to an audience - especially one that is based around such sensitive topics that are so close to home. As a writer, I hope to continue to pursue and develop similar stories within a similar frame of genre.

Credits