ashkal alwan

A love letter to Anjar, a small rural community in Lebanon only a few miles from the Syrian border and largely inhabited by ethnic Armenians, the film explores the everyday and the uncanny as it tries to document the fleeting traits of this border town in transformation.

Cinematography: Jad Youssef
Editors: Jad Dani Ali Hassan, Panos Aprahamian
Music: Rami El Murr, Mohamad Safa
Sound Design: Jad Taleb

An Associated Press correspondent on the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon reports a tree on the Blue Line as it is about to be cut down. The incident, as reported, started when the Israeli Defence Forces attempted to cut down the tree claiming routine border work. As the bulldozer approaches, a glitch within the camera magically transports us to another tree.

A place at the edge of the city. A flux of scenes and impressions. In this work, I recall the stories of those I knew and dive into the depths of my memory, and the place’s reality.

“We Died and Here We Are is one reaction among many I’ve had to my uncle’s death. Now that I’m nearing his age when he died, I’m fighting to reconnect with what he left behind. Though my family had always compared me to him, they won’t speak about the circumstances that took his life. I can only scour his photographs, his poetry, and his collection of 50 luxury automobiles for clues; their emptiness now challenges my imagination and memory. In this short film, I grapple with loss, hoping to forget and rebuild in the face of staunch silence.”

Editing: Isidore Bethel

This film tells the story of a child leaving his home by himself, in the middle of the night. His journey through nature takes him to the coast, by the garbage hill in Daora. Following streams of water, the element of metamorphosis, the child’s journey amounts to a rite of passage. Far from a psychological drama, the film revolves around the child’s choice to leave and break with his family and tradition.

With: Mohamad Rayanna, Ahmad Freiji, Mostafa Tarabichi, Mohamad Khodor
Image: Georges Haddad, Ludovic Rivalan, Elias Nemr
Sound: Sylver Catton, Hamra Bou Eid
Visual artist: Anthony Geara

Lime Song is a virtual stunt, a Lime Green water gun. A free and limitless exploration of boundaries within boundaries within neon boundaries. A video/game.

Music: Omar Aloulou
Director of Photography: Joe Saade
Video Editor/ Compositor: Jad Taleb CG/ VFX Artist: Emilio Kheir
Stunt Double: Krystelle Harb