The story of Mohamed Ben Attia’s third feature, a drama titled Behind the Mountains screening at the Venice Film Festival, is truly one of a kind.
After a severe mental breakdown results in a violent outbreak, a forty-something man called Rafik (Majd Mastoura) ends up spending four years in jail. Upon his release, he kidnaps his son Yassine (young Walid Bouchhioua) and takes him far away to show him “a beautiful place behind the mountains.” On their path to this mysterious place, they bump into a bizarre shepherd (Samer Bisharat), while fleeing from law enforcement.
A co-production between Tunisia, Belgium, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the feature had its world premiere in the Orizzonti strand of this year’s Venice Film Festival, which runs until Saturday.
When asked why he decided to tell a story with a flying father as its lead character, Ben Attia tells The National: “It was a very old image [I had in mind], the image of this guy floating in the air, and that was around 15 years ago. Back then, I felt it was a little bit childish, and I wasn’t very interested to work around this first image.”
“Five years ago, when I wrapped my second film [Dear Son], it came back. I felt I could link this image to the idea of being detached – in this violent way – from the Earth, from the community, and from your own body, in order to set yourself free. But it’s not only a matter of freedom.”
In fact, Rafik’s ability to fly is also a plot device that allows Ben Attia to explore in depth the topic of mental health issues.
Ben Attia began working on the script two years ago and chose the actor playing Rafik, Mastoura, before he started writing the film.
“He was the leading actor of my first feature, Hedi. So we have developed a very strong bond, and I was sure from the very beginning Rafik was him,” he says.
Ben Attia admits he was much more concerned about casting the right actor for the role of Yassine.
“It’s been hard. Luckily, my producer found him [Bouchhioua], and since she knows me very well she didn’t tell me: ‘Look, it’s him!’. Instead, she offered me 30 candidates, saying she loved one of them in particular and was hoping I would pick the same one.”
Ben Attia and his producer chose the same actor, and that’s how Bouchhioua was chosen for the part. Building a connection between the child actor, Mastoura and the director was mostly “a matter of time,” with the three spending time eating and chatting. They became quickly very close, and this helped them to build trust.
Throughout the creative process, Ben Attia worked on balancing the story’s supernatural component – making sure it was present but in the background – with his bold sociopolitical stances.
One of the aspects he wished to explore in his film, he says, is “the difference between radicalisation and radicality. For me, we’re missing more and more the beauty of the word ‘radicality.’ That’s why I want the character of Rafik being someone who doesn’t accept any compromise.”
On his collaboration with director of photography, Frederic Noirhomme, he explains they didn’t work on specific visual references, but the beauty of the Northern Tunisian landscape. Some test shoots on location helped them to focus on a palette based on winter colours, with its various shades of green.
The producers of Ben Attia’s film include – once again – the Dardenne Brothers: “We started [working together] from the script phase. We set up many Skype calls, during which we were open to questions or ideas coming from them. Then we got out of touch during shooting. After that, we began speaking again during the editing, just to make sure that everything was in the right place.”
Zooming in on the post-production phase, he adds: “My editor Lenka Fillnerova did a very good job. Usually, I’m very present [in the editing room]. We started that way but halfway she asked to be left alone for a week. She later suggested many things I couldn’t imagine without having an external viewpoint.”
With Behind the Mountains, Ben Attia hopes that the topic of mental health will resonate far beyond Tunisia and the region. “[My film] is more about this feeling of malaise present in modern society, it’s about not being sure about our place in family, on the workplace … It prompts questions about how life can be different, and it’s a very contemporary topic.”
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Landfill in numbers
• Landfill gas is composed of 50 per cent methane
• Methane is 28 times more harmful than Co2 in terms of global warming
• 11 million total tonnes of waste are being generated annually in Abu Dhabi
• 18,000 tonnes per year of hazardous and medical waste is produced in Abu Dhabi emirate per year
• 20,000 litres of cooking oil produced in Abu Dhabi’s cafeterias and restaurants every day is thrown away
• 50 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s waste is from construction and demolition
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
RESULT
Bayer Leverkusen 2 Bayern Munich 4
Leverkusen: Alario (9'), Wirtz (89')
Bayern: Coman (27'), Goretzka (42'), Gnabry (45'), Lewandowski (66')
Arabian Gulf League fixtures:
Friday:
- Emirates v Hatta, 5.15pm
- Al Wahda v Al Dhafra, 5.25pm
- Al Ain v Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, 8.15pm
Saturday:
- Dibba v Ajman, 5.15pm
- Sharjah v Al Wasl, 5.20pm
- Al Jazira v Al Nasr, 8.15pm
More on Palestine-Israeli relations
Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.
Moonfall
Director: Rolan Emmerich
Stars: Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry
Rating: 3/5
More on animal trafficking
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
The%20specs
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Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The biog
DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
