Palestinian producer May Jabareen has come into focus at this year’s Cairo industry program after her debut feature project Ping-Pong collected multiple development prizes there, adding momentum to a film that tracks daily life under the shadow of war. The project, written and directed by Saleh Saadi and produced through Jabareen’s Philistine Films, competed in the Cairo Film Connection development strand and won the I Sound Award for $20,000 in sound services, the Cinetech Award for $5,000 in post-production services, and a Special Touch cash prize of $1,500.
Ping-Pong centers on Issam, a man living in the occupied 48 territories who returns to his childhood home while the war on Gaza erupts nearby. Grieving his brother’s death, Issam finds a late-night refuge in ping-pong tournaments hosted by a neighbor, with the games offering a brief pocket of laughter and community under the rumble of warplanes. The screenplay positions sport not as escapism, but as a small ritual that helps people hold onto dignity in a collapsing world.
The Cairo recognition follows an earlier boost at Amman Film Industry Days in July, where Ping-Pong received the Masna3 award, including $2,500 in cash and $2,500 in consultation support. Together, the awards underline how regional markets are rallying around Palestinian stories that fuse intimate character study with the present political reality.
Saadi, a filmmaker from Basmat Tab’un, is expanding from shorts into long-form work. His earlier films Borekas and A’lam played widely on the festival circuit, and he has been developing both Ping-Pong and a separate television project through international labs. The Palestine Film Institute lists Ping-Pong as early development with an estimated budget of about $1.3 million and an active search for co-producers, financing partners, and script support.
Jabareen, who has produced and line-produced a range of Palestinian and Arab features and documentaries, has argued in recent public remarks that Palestinian cinema must show lives that extend beyond headlines, even when made under extreme constraints. Cairo Film Connection director Rodrigo Brum framed this year’s lineup as work rooted in community and history, a phrasing that fits Ping-Pong’s aim to capture resilience through the ordinary.
