Dubai-based Front Row Filmed Entertainment has secured world rights to Disorder, an anthology feature that explores Lebanon’s recent tumultuous years.
Blending drama and dark humour, the film comprises four shorts – The Group, Motherland, Don’t Panic, and A Piece of Heaven – directly respectively by Lucien Bourjeily, Bane Fakih, Wissam Charaf, and Areej Mahmoud.
Curated and produced by Bechara Mouzannar through his Beirut-based outfit Unbranded, the film is executive produced by Lebanese director and actress Nadine Labaki of Cannes award-winner Capernaum.
The film is set to premiere out of competition at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival (Oct 24-Nov 1).
As well as handling world sales, Front Row will distribute in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with a limited theatrical release in 2025.
It comes at a time when more than 300,000 people have fled Lebanon for Syria in the wake of escalating bombing and ground campaign by Israel. It is a country that has also faced profound challenges since October 2019, marked by a severe economic crisis that sparked widespread protests against the government, culminating in the Beirut Port explosion in August 2020 that devastated large parts of the city.
“Disorder is a much-needed film that truthfully depicts the psychological impact of Lebanon’s collapse on a young generation that continues to figure out how to overcome many layers of injustice,” said Labaki in a statement.
The film features an ensemble cast that includes Manal Issa (The Swimmers), Rodrigue Sleiman (The Traveller), Farah Shaer (Heaven Without People), Hanane Hajj Ali (Bab El Shams), Petra Serhal, Yara Abou Haidar, Said Serhan (Beirut Hold ‘Em), Josef Akiki (Al Hayba), and stand-up comedian Chaker Bou Abdalla, who co-wrote short A Piece of Heaven.
Writer and director Bourjeily is known for Heaven Without People; Fakih for Keep It Together; Charaf for Dirty, Difficult, Dangerous; and Mahmoud for Beirut 6:07.
The anthology brings together four distinct stories crafted by Lebanese writers and directors Lucien Bourjeily (Heaven Without People), Bane Fakih (Keep It Together), Wissam Charaf (Dirty, Difficult, Dangerous), and Areej Mahmoud (Beirut 6:07).
Producers are Mouzannar, Labaki, and Khaled Mouzanar who worked together on Capernaum. It is co-produced by Lara Chekerdjian and Abla Khoury of Ginger Beirut Productions and Studio Humbaba.
No comments yet