Waleed, 40, lives comfortably in his ocean-view house in Haifa with his career-driven wife and two children. A former hi-tech engineer and aspiring writer, he appreciates life as a stay-at-home dad, but his chronic depression is getting to him.

One day, while standing at his window overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, Waleed is introduced to his new somewhat shady neighbor, Jalal. Waleed senses a chance for good material for his literary work, and at the same time he senses a way to end his suffering. So he asks Jalal to help him with research for his new crime novel. Jalal agrees, but uses Waleed’s company for his own purposes. Despite their very opposite views and lifestyles, a real male friendship quickly develops between them until Waleed offers Jalal a “job”.

Maha Haj, born in Nazareth/Israel in 1970, graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in English and Arabic Literature. Her first cinematic experience derived from her work as an artistic designer in the productions of THE TIME THAT REMAIN by Elia Suleiman, THE ATTACK by Ziad Douairi, as well as ON THE HILL by Rafael Natjari. Furthermore, she wrote and directed the short film ORANGES (2009) and the documentary BEHIND THESE WALLS (2010). In 2016, her first feature film PERSONAL AFFAIRS was selected for Cannes’ section “Un Certain Regard” – as well as her film MEDITERRANEAN FEVER.

Filmography (selection): 2016 PERSONAL AFFAIRS, 2022 MEDITERRANEAN FEVER

Awards: Award for Best Script in the section “Un Certain Regard” (Cannes International Film Festival, France 2022), Golden Firebird Award (Hong Kong International Film Festival, China 2022)