Peace by Chocolate
Poster
Directed byJonathan Keijser
Written byJonathan Keijser
Abdul Malik
Produced byJonathan Keijser
Catherine Léger
Martin Paul-Hus
StarringHatem Ali
Ayham Abou Ammar
CinematographyBenoit Beaulieu
Edited byMathieu Bélanger
Jonathan Keijser
Music byDavid Bertok
Production
company
Magnetic North Pictures
Distributed byVortex Media
Release date
  • June 18, 2021 (2021-06-18) (Tribeca)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguagesEnglish
Arabic

Peace by Chocolate is a 2021 Canadian drama film, directed, produced, edited, and co-written by Jonathan Keijser.[1] The film is based on the true story of the Hadhads, a family from Syria who moved to Canada as refugees from the Syrian civil war, settling in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and establishing the Peace by Chocolate artisanal chocolate shop.[2]

The film stars Hatem Ali as patriarch Issam Hadhad and Ayham Abou Ammar as Tareq Hadhad. It was Ali's final film role before his death in December 2020.[2] The cast also includes Yara Sabri as Shahnaz Hadhad, Najlaa Al Khamri as Alaa Hadhad, Mark Camacho as their Canadian immigration sponsor Frank Gallant and Laurent Pitre as an employee of the chocolate factory, as well as a brief appearance by Justin Trudeau reenacting his real-life meeting with the Hadhad family in 2016.

The film premiered on June 18, 2021, at the Tribeca Film Festival,[1] and had its Canadian premiere on July 1 at the Lavazza Drive-In Film Festival, a special edition of the Italian Contemporary Film Festival which was staged at Ontario Place.[3] At Lavazza, it was one of two winners of the Jury Award, alongside the Hong Kong film Septet: The Story of Hong Kong.[4]

Reception

Peace by Chocolate received positive reviews. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 86% approval rating, based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Nick Vivarelli, "Syrian Refugee Drama ‘Peace by Chocolate,’ Starring Hatem Ali, to Bow at Tribeca, UTA Selling". Variety, May 3, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Brooklyn Currie, "Peace by Chocolate film to debut at NYC's Tribeca Film Festival". CBC News Nova Scotia, May 3, 2021.
  3. ↑ Chris Knight, "Lavazza Drive-in Film Festival returns for another year". National Post, June 25, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Comedy Triumphs at the Lavazza Drive-In Film Festival". Cision, July 21, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Peace by Chocolate". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 2, 2023.


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