![Blessed Benefit (2016)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzQ1MDhjMjItNGFiNS00YWJhLWE3NmQtNGI2YjQ3ZWNhNWM1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjMyOTAwMg@@._V1_QL75_UY207_CR3,0,140,207_.jpg)
![Blessed Benefit (2016)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzQ1MDhjMjItNGFiNS00YWJhLWE3NmQtNGI2YjQ3ZWNhNWM1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjMyOTAwMg@@._V1_QL75_UY207_CR3,0,140,207_.jpg)
What if the freedom that you’ve always craved resides in the place you least expect? In the new film “Blessed Benefit,” 45-year-old construction worker Ahmad (Ahmad Thaher) is arrested for fraud after using a client’s down payment to help his cousin sell 10 brand-new laptops. While he waits in prison for his debt to be repaid, he worries about his family and their financial situation, but soon realizes he feels liberated in prison as all of his material concerns are taken care of by the institution. Now, his new worry is that he’ll lose the liberty thrust upon him. Watch an exclusive trailer for the film below.
Read More: The 2016 IndieWire Tiff Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival
The film is directed by Mahmoud al Massad. He previously directed two feature-length documentaries: “Recycle,” which follows an ex-mujahadi fighter struggling to make a living in Jordan,...
Read More: The 2016 IndieWire Tiff Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival
The film is directed by Mahmoud al Massad. He previously directed two feature-length documentaries: “Recycle,” which follows an ex-mujahadi fighter struggling to make a living in Jordan,...
- 9/20/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
![Mahmoud al Massad](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTc3MzYwMjk3M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjY5MTc1MQ@@._V1_QL75_UX140_CR0,4,140,207_.jpg)
![Mahmoud al Massad](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTc3MzYwMjk3M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjY5MTc1MQ@@._V1_QL75_UX140_CR0,4,140,207_.jpg)
“Blessed Benefit” (“Inshallah Estafadit”) written and directed by Mahmoud al Massad is a bit of a joke, but a dark joke being played upon the people of Jordan. Ten years ago, telling such a story of their degradation would have been a real joke. Today, to Mahmoud Al Massad’s chagrin, it is a true story.
This is story of Everyman who, in his misadventures with the law and the lawless, finds the blessed benefit of sharing the human comedy with others imprisoned for all trying to eke out a way to live in society, which, as I listened to the urgency in Mahmoud’s voice, has become atrociously greedy and violent within the space of the last ten years.
Maher Khammash as El Mor and Ahmad Thaher as himself, Ahmad
I spoke with Mahmoud at length and wished we could have had more time and hope we will indeed have more time at a future time.
This is story of Everyman who, in his misadventures with the law and the lawless, finds the blessed benefit of sharing the human comedy with others imprisoned for all trying to eke out a way to live in society, which, as I listened to the urgency in Mahmoud’s voice, has become atrociously greedy and violent within the space of the last ten years.
Maher Khammash as El Mor and Ahmad Thaher as himself, Ahmad
I spoke with Mahmoud at length and wished we could have had more time and hope we will indeed have more time at a future time.
- 9/19/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
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