SCA25: Jalla! Jalla! 25th Anniversary

25th Anniversary

Celebrating twenty-five years since release. Directed by Josef Fares in his feature debut, Jalla! Jalla! stars Fares as Roro, a Lebanese-Swedish parks officer, and Torkel Petersson as his best friend Måns. Roro is in love with his Swedish girlfriend Lisa (Tuva Novotny) but hesitates to introduce her to his traditional Lebanese family.

When he finally decides to do so, he discovers that his family has arranged his marriage to Yasmin, a Lebanese woman facing deportation if she doesn't marry. Roro and Yasmin agree to pretend to go along with the marriage to appease their families, leading to comedic situations, meanwhile Måns grapples with his own relationship issues.

The film explores themes of cultural identity, generational conflict, and the challenges of balancing personal desires with familial expectations. It received critical acclaim and was selected as Sweden's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 74th Academy Awards. Jalla! Jalla! remains a significant work in Swedish cinema, noted for its humorous yet poignant portrayal of multicultural life in Sweden.

 2000 | Sweden | Swedish, English and Arabic with English subtitles

 Awards

WINNER | Audience Award, Bratislava International Film Festival 2001
NOMINEE | European Discovery, European Film Awards 2001
NOMINEE | Best Film, Guldbagge Awards 2001