Paradise City Sales Takes Sara Ishaq's 'The Station'
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- Paradise City Sales (formerly Memento International) acquired world sales rights to Sara Ishaq's debut feature 'The Station,' with the film set to world premiere at Cannes Critics' Week running May 13–21
- 'The Station' is a rare Yemen-set drama revolving around Layal, who runs a women-only petrol station — 'no men, no weapons, no politics' — that serves as a safe haven for women in a war-torn country
- Sara Ishaq first gained international recognition with her Oscar and BAFTA-nominated short documentary 'Karama Has No Walls' (2012), and co-wrote 'The Station' with Nadia Eliewat
- The project won the main award for best film in post-production at the Final Cut in Venice program in 2025, and the screenplay draws from a real women-only petrol station Ishaq discovered in her hometown of Sanaa
- The film is produced by Screen Project (Jordan), Ta Films Company, and Georges Films (France), with co-producers spanning Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Yemen, Jordan, and Egypt, plus co-production with ARTE and ZDF
- Funding came from roughly 20 international bodies including Jordan Film Fund, Doha Film Institute, Eurimages, Hubert Bals Fund, CNC, and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Ishaq described the film as 'less about war itself than about its consequences' and 'an ode to the people of Yemen, who have endured years of war with dignity, humour and strength'
Why it matters: Paradise City Sales adds a debut feature from an Oscar- and BAFTA-shortlisted filmmaker to its slate, timed for Cannes Critics' Week's 65th edition, where the film competes among 11 features. The production — backed by roughly 20 international funds across seven countries — illustrates the extraordinary scaffolding required to bring a Yemen-set, women-centered arthouse film to global audiences.
