Dubai-Based Distributor Front Row Takes Controversial Lebanese Film ‘Death of a Virgin’ (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentDubai-based independent film distributor and producer Front Row Filmed Entertainment has acquired global rights – excluding theatrical, which is limited to the MENA region – for Lebanese drama “Death of a Virgin and the Sin of Not Living” that launched last year from Berlin’s Panorama section.Produced by Beirut-based Bee On Set Productions, “Death of a Virgin” marks director George Peter Barbari’s feature debut.

It stars newcomers Etienne Assal, Adnan Khabbaz, Jean-Paul Franjieh and Elie Dankoura Saad. Set in Batroun, one of Lebanon’s most famous coastal cities, pic follows a group of troubled teens who are taking their friend Etienne (Assal) to a sex worker in an attempt to make him lose his virginity.

Variety in its review called the film “an impressive debut” that “burrows inside until you find yourself flooded by the fragility of life, with all its beauty and sorrow.”Since launching from Berlin, “Death of a Virgin” has segued to several other fests including Zurich, the New Horizons International Film Festival in Poland, Istanbul Film Festival, the Leiden International Film Festival, where it won the prize for best first feature, Thessaloniki, and most recently, Cairo.The expanding Front Row, recently launched its first production, the Arabic-language remake of hit concept movie “Perfect Strangers” on Netflix, where it’s been performing very well globally.“Death of A Virgin” “uniquely tackles several controversial issues in a typically conservative region by shedding light on taboo topics such as sexuality, male identity, sex work and the exploitation of vulnerable refugees, which made it the perfect mix for Front Row,” the company said in a statement.Front Row CEO Gianluca.