Festivals
(Premiere) Berlinale 2021, Panorama Section

Synopsis
When sharp science student Asli meets charismatic Saeed in the mid 90’s, it’s love at first sight. The lovers marry, and Asli swears to be true to Saeed and never betray his secrets. Their future looks bright, but as the twenty-first century dawns, Saeed makes a decision that will not only shatter Asli’s dreams, but shake the whole world to the core.

Duration: 118 min
Language: German | Arabic

Production Germany, France
Razor Film Produktion GmbH, Haut et Court, Zero 1 Films

Lead Actors
Canan Kir, Roger Azar

Crew
Directed by Anne Zohra Berrached
Written by Stefanie Misrahi
Director of Photography: Christopher Aoun
Producer: Gerhard Meixner, Roman Paul, Christiane Sommer
Associate Producer: Pierre Sarraf

Lebanon Unit
Production Manager: Marie-Lynn Nasrallah
Casting: Najat Adem, Cynthia Hobeika
Art Director: Issa Kandil
Costumes: Windy Ishak
Production Coordinator: Rana Maalouf
Production Assistant: Joe Ghawi
Set Manager: Anthony Zouein
2nd Assistant Director: Georges Cassab
Make up Artist: Claudine Choueiri
Hairdresser: Johnny Nehme

Awards
Cannes Film Festival – Jury Prize 2018
Nomination in the Best Foreign Film Category
Golden Globes, Cesar, Bafta, Academy Award

Synopsis
After running away from his negligent parents, committing a violent crime and being sentenced to five years in jail, a hardened, streetwise 12-year-old Lebanese boy sues his parents in protest of the life they have given him.

Duration: 120 min
Language: Arabic

Production: Lebanon
Producer: Khaled Mouzannar, Michel Merkt
Co-producers: Akram Safa, Pierre Sarraf

Lead Actors
Zain Al Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw, Treasure Bankole, Fadi Youssef, Alaa Chechniye, Kawthar Al Haddad, Nadine Labaki

Crew
Written by:Nadine Labaki, Jihad Hojeily, Michelle Keserwany, Georges Khabbaz
Directed by: Nadine Labaki
Director of Photography: Christopher Aoun
Editor: Konstantin Bock, Laure Gardette
Sound Design: Chadi Roukoz
Production Design: Hussein Baydoun
Costumes: Zeina Saab De Melero
Casting Director: Jennifer Haddad
Make-up: Michelle Sleiman, Caludine Choueiri
Assistant Director: Toufic Khreich, Melissa Karam
Line Producer: Marianne Katra
Production Manager: Elie Ziade, Marie-Lyn Nasrallah
Production Coordinator: Gaelle Fayad

Awards
Berlinale 2017, Panorama Section, Audience Award

Synopsis
Damascus, Oum Yazan is trying desperately to keep together her family life whilst outside a war is raging. The family sits together around a large table at midday, everyone trying to make themselves heard above the cannonade of bombs and machine gun fire. There is hardly any water and every trip outside the door spells danger on account of the snipers on the rooftops above. Just a few shots are necessary to draw the viewer into the permanent state of emergency that is war. The apartment that was once a familiar home has now become a prison. Philippe Van Leeuw’s huis clos describes people in an extreme situation that gives rise to extreme behaviour. Every decision could be a matter of life or death: is it morally acceptable to sacrifice one member of the family to guarantee the survival of the others?

Duration: 85 min
Language: Arabic

Production Belgium, France, Lebanon
Producers: Guillaume Malandrin, Serge Zeitoun
Co-producers: Tomas Leyers, Pierre Sarraf, Philippe Logie, Olivier Bronckart, Jacques Henri Bronckart
Co-production: Minds Meet, Brüssel, né à Beyrouth Films, Versus Production, Voo, Be Tv, Brüssel
Sales: Films Boutique

Lead Actors
Hiam Abbas, Diamand Abou Abboud, Juliette Navis

Crew
Written and directed by Philippe Van Leeuw
Director of Photography: Virginie Surdej
Editor: Gladys Joujou
Music: Jean-Luc Fafchamps
Sound Design: Paul Heymans, Olivier Mortier, Alek Gosse
Sound: Chadi Roukoz
Production Design: Kathy Lebrun, Issa Kandil
Costumes: Claire Dubien
Casting Director: Najat Adem
Make-up: Muriëlle Vercruysse
Assistant Director: Jean-François Ravagnan, Yara Safadi
Line Producer: Marianne Katra
Production Manager: Elie Ziade
Production Coordinator: Gaelle Fayad

Awards
Cannes Film Festival ACID selection 2016

Synopsis
In Wissam Charaf’s first feature film “Tombé du ciel”, we witness the story of Samir and Omar. The two brothers find themselves in an awkward situation when Samir makes a sudden appearance after being thought dead for a long time.

Duration: 70 min
Language: Arabic

Production: France, Lebanon
Producer: Charlotte Vincent
Co-producer: Pierre Sarraf

Lead Actors
Raed Yassine, Rodrigue Sleiman, Said Serhan, Yuman Marwan

Crew
Written and directed by Wissam Charaf
Director of Photography: Martin Rit
Editor: William Laboury
Sound Design: Emmanuel Zouki
Production Design: Farah Naboulsi
Costumes: Jessica Saber
Casting Director: Ghina Abboud
Make-up: Alice Tawil
Assistant Director: Victor Baussonnie
Line Producer: Jana Wehbe
Production Manager: Clara Kossaifi
Production Coordinator: Ghina el Hachem

Synopsis
Nada is going home. Or at least she wants to. When she comes back to Lebanon, she realizes she’s a foreigner in her own country. But there’s still a place she calls home: an abandoned house in ruins, haunted by the presence of her grandfather who disappeared mysteriously during the civil war. Something happened in this house. Something violent. Nada is a young woman searching for the truth and discovering herself.

Production: France, Belgium, Switzerland, Lebanon
Producer: Nathalie Trafford
Associate Producer: Pierre Sarraf

Actors
Golshifteh Farahani, Maximilien Severin, Julia Kassar,

Crew
Director: Jihane Chouhaib
DOP: Tomaso Fiorelli
1st AD: Gilles Tarazi
2nd AD: Reine Razzouk
Casting Director: Najat Adem
Set Designer: Zeina Saab De Melero
Wardrobe Designer: Beatrice Harb
Sound Engineer: Henri Maikoff
Make up: Leticia Ortis
Line Producer: Marianne Katra
Production Manager France: Benjamin Lanlard
Production Managers: Josef kaluf | Elie Ziade
Location Manager: Elie Ziade
Production Coordinator: Yara Safadi

Set in contemporary Iran in the unseen world of Iranian youth culture, filled with underground parties, sex, drugs and defiance, CIRCUMSTANCE is the story of two vivacious young girls — wealthy Atafeh and orphaned Shireen — discovering their burgeoning sexuality and, like 16 year-old girls anywhere, struggling with their desires and the boundaries placed upon them by the world they were born into.

Genre: Drama, Foreign
Official Site: http://www.takepart.com/circumstance
Director: Maryam Keshavarz
Cast: Nikohl Boosheri, Sarah Kazemy, Reza Sixo Safai
Run Time: 106 minutes
In theaters: August 19th, 2011

Falafel