Out of Coverage

The Syrian film maker Abdullatif Abdulhamid is fascinated by the subject of love and lovers in its various forms. One can see it already in his debut, The Nights of the Jackal, as well as in his second film Oral Messages. A complicated love affair against the background of contemporary Damascus is his focus in Out of Coverage.
Amer is a middle-aged man living a busy life. His busyness is caused by the fact that besides taking care of his own family he helps his friend Zuhair’s wife and daughter to survive during his friend’s absence. As Amer also has his own family to whom he dedicates as much energy and time, the tempo of his life becomes almost slapstick-like. Amer's wife seems not to be very happy with her ever absent husband, but the two women also respect each other in a surprising way. Zuhair has been imprisoned for many years by now. He may be one of the country’s political prisoners with an uncertain future. When it looks like he is about to be released, Amer realises that he might have certain feelings for Zuhair’s wife.
Abdullatif Abdulhamid has been making films since the 1980s and has won various international awards. This is the first time that his work is being shown at the IFFR.