Eid milad Laila (2008)

Abu Laila used to be a judge, but because the government doesn't have the means to renew his assignment he is forced to be a taxi driver. On the day his daughter Laila becomes seven years ... See full summary »

Director:

Rashid Masharawi

Writer:

Rashid Masharawi (screenplay)

Stars:

Mohammed Bakri, Areen Omari, Nour Zoubi

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Mohammed Bakri	...	Abu Laila
Areen Omari	...	Um Laila
Nour Zoubi	...	Laila
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Housam Abu Aishe	...	Gas Station Employee
Valantina Abu Aq'ssah	...	Woman in the Queue
Najah Abu El Heija	...	Crying Widow
Ahmad Abu Sal'oum	...	Second Taxi Driver
Khaled Al Masou	...	Employee of the Ministry of Justice
Rawan Ao'de	...	Student Couple
Mahmoud Awadd	...	The Mechanic
Marwan Awadd	...	Armed Man
Saleh Bakri	...	Former Prisoner
Yahya Barakat	...	Cake Seller
Badran Bedarin	...	The Mechanic's Son
Mahmoud El Cheikh	...	Passenger to the Factory Zone

Storyline

Abu Laila used to be a judge, but because the government doesn't have the means to renew his assignment he is forced to be a taxi driver. On the day his daughter Laila becomes seven years old his wife insists that he'll be at home early and bring her a present and a cake. Abu Laila's has nothing else on his mind then completing this mission. But the daily life in Palestine has other plans.

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Plot Keywords:

palestine | taxi driver | taxi | candle | cell phone | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Palestine Tunisia Netherlands

Language:

Arabic

Release Date:

9 April 2009 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

El cumpleaños de Laila

Filming Locations:

Ramallah, Palestine

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$824 (USA) (5 June 2009)

Gross:

$9,065 (USA) (18 September 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Production Center, Cinétéléfilms, Sweetwater Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

This film must be shown to all families.

Palestinian director Rashid Mashrawi's film Laila's birthday is a film about the harsh realities of occupied Palestine.The theme of his film concerns emotional upheavals of ordinary people who are nothing but ordinary citizens of a nation which is continually at war.They are troubled in their daily existence by their own intricate idiosyncrasies.We can all easily relate to the pains of our film's protagonist, a taxi driver with his own set of principles who worked as a judge in the past. It is only under dire situations that a judge would be compelled to earn living as a cab driver.The mood of the film is both sombre as well as comic. This is a film for all people with families and children as its teaches values which are important for the society as a whole. Laila's birthday can be summarized as a funny chaotic day in the life of a simple minded taxi driver. It is a feel good film whose end can be easily predicted. A thing which might irk certain sections of viewers involves silly Israel bashing by Rashid Mashrawi as he indulges in it every now and then.