‘Bonnie & Bonnie’ Producer on How AI Helped Him Envision Locarno’s Match Me! Project ‘700 Days in Homs’

variety.com:

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor A film student trapped by Syrian government troops in the besieged city of Homs tries to find his way out in Sulaiman Tadmory and Ali Hakim’s “700 Days in Homs.” The project is currently under development at Germany’s Hakim + König Film, with Hakim headed to Match Me!, Locarno’s prestigious networking platform for emerging producers taking place between August 9-11.

Produced with Epikfilm, “700 Days in Homs” is inspired by Tadmory’s real-life struggle for survival in a war-torn city. “I’ve lived through the relentless terror of bombings in Homs, where fear and destruction were omnipresent,” he said in a statement. “‘700 Days in Homs’ captures the profound resilience and solidarity of young residents amidst the chaos, shifting the narrative from despair to hope.

This film aims to amplify their voices and inspire global awareness, a testament to the unyielding spirit of the Syrian people.” A journalist turned filmmaker, Tadmory will co-write and co-direct the film with Hakim, whose feature debut “Bonnie & Bonnie” played at the Hamburg Film Festival in 2019.

The war drama spearheads the development slate at Hakim + König Film, an emergent production company created by Hakim and Max König (“WaPo Bodensee”) and aiming to tap into the “pop arthouse” sector in Germany and internationally.