Tunisian-Canadian director Meryam Joobeur’s feature film Mé el Aïn (Who Do I Belong To) and Kazik Radwanski’s feature Matt and Mara will world premiere in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) next month.

Mé el Aïn (pictured) is a France-Canada-Tunisia copro and one of 20 films selected as part of Berlinale’s Competition program, making it eligible for the festival’s prestigious Golden and Silver Bear awards.

The Arabic-language feature is written and directed by Meryam Joobeur, who is also a producer alongside Annick Blanc and Maria Gracia Turgeon of Montreal prodco Midi La Nuit, Sarra Ben Hassen of Tunisia’s Instinct Bleu, and Nadim Cheikhrouha of France’s Tanit Films.

Mé el Aïn follows a Tunisian woman who finds herself torn between her maternal instincts and the truth when her son brings darkness to their village after returning from war. Paris-based Luxbox is handling international sales for the film.

Joobeur makes her feature directorial debut on the film, having been nominated for an Academy Award in 2020 for her short film Brotherhood.

Making its world premiere in Berlinale’s Encounters program is writer-director Kazik Radwanski’s feature Matt and Mara, which is eligible for three juried awards: Best Film, Best Director, and a Special Jury Award.

Produced under the Toronto banner Medium Density Fibreboard Films (MDFF) co-run by Radwanski and Dan Montgomery, the film stars Deragh Campbell (Anne at 13,000 ft) as a tenure-track professor who finds herself caught up in a relationship with a man from her past, played by Matt Johnson (BlackBerry). Telefilm Canada provided funding to the feature in 2020.

Also world premiering at Berlinale is Montreal-based, Ukrainian-born director Oksana Karpovych’s documentary Intercepted, selected for the Forum program.

The doc is produced by Rocío B. Fuentes and Giacomo Nudi of Montreal’s Les Films Cosmos, and shows intercepted phone calls between Russian soldiers and their families in the war in Ukraine.

Swiss and French sales agency Lightdox is handling international sales, and Les Films du 3 mars will distribute in Canada.

The 74th edition of Berlinale runs from Feb. 15 to 25.

Image courtesy of Tanit Films, Midi La Nuit and Instinct Bleu