Myriam Sassine: Last News

Alex Ritman The first edition of the U.K. Next Wave Genre Lab, the initiative founded by Film Constellation, Mason Fantastic Film Festival and Tatino Films, has found its first projects.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The trailer has debuted for feature documentary “Dancing on the Edge of the Volcano,” which will have its world premiere in the Main Competition at Karlovy Vary Film Festival. Reynard Films is handling international sales. Cyril Aris’ film centers on the aftermath of the catastrophic explosion at the port of Beirut on Aug. 4, 2020, which leaves a large part of the Lebanese capital in ruins. In the midst of the chaos, a film crew face an overwhelming decision: to continue the production of their movie or abandon it? They are torn between their firm belief in the transformative power of cinema and a deep sense of cynicism about its ability to effect change in a nation plagued by economic turmoil and societal collapse.

Naman Ramachandran The first trailer has been unveiled for documentary “In the Shadow of Beirut,” executive produced by Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and Siobhan Sinnerton for HiddenLight Productions. The film is a cinematic portrait of modern-day Lebanon as seen through the eyes of four families living in the impoverished Sabra and Shatila neighbourhoods of the city, the scene of an infamous massacre in 1982. It filmed over four years with unique access to the families within these largely restricted areas and is co-directed by Stephen Gerard Kelly, in his debut, and Garry Keane (Sundance selection “Gaza,” 2019). Kelly built up his relationship with the families over a six-year period.

Manori Ravindran International Editor Hilary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton’s HiddenLight Productions is co-producing a new feature documentary with the team behind Sundance 2019 title “Gaza.” “In the Shadow of Beirut” is a cinematic portrait of modern-day Lebanon as seen through the eyes of four families living in the impoverished Sabra and Shatila neighbourhoods of the city, the scene of an infamous massacre in 1982. The film will be executive produced by Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and Siobhan Sinnerton for HiddenLight. The doc is filmed over four years with unique access to the families within these largely restricted areas and co-directed by Stephen Gerard Kelly, in his debut, and Garry Keane (“Gaza,” 2019). Kelly built up his relationship with the families over a six-year period.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorCameroon’s Cyrielle Raingou has won the Kirch Foundation Award, which comes with a €5,000 cash prize, for her film project “I’m Coming for You.”The award comes at the conclusion of the first edition of Munich Film Up!, an eight-month mentoring and residency program for film school graduates that started in November.The program was created by the Pop Up Film Residency, in partnership with the University of Television and Film Munich (HFF München) and the Munich Film Festival.The six filmmakers who took part in the program were:Lana Bregar, Slovenia (Film school: AGFRT Ljubljana) with “Dark Head” Erec Brehmer, Germany (Film school: HFF München) with “Lightness and Weight” Anastasiya Gruba, Ukraine (Film school: Kyiv University) with “Women Suicide Season” Loïc Hobi, Switzerland/France (Film school: Ecole de la Cité) with “Crypto Lover” Cyrielle Raingou, Cameroon (Film school: Doc Nomads Master) with “I’m Coming for You” Pratik Thakare, India (Film school: Satyajit Ray Institute Kolkata) with “A Midnight Meal” “I’m Coming for You,” which is still at an early stage of development, centers on Karthoumi, a young mother. Always wearing a hijab, she rides a Bobber motorcycle across Africa’s Sahel region to trade with Boko Haram terrorists.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentKino Lorber has acquired North American rights to first-time Lebanese director Mounia Akl’s timely drama “Costa Brava, Lebanon,” which launched positively last year from Venice.“Costa Brava” provides an acerbic take on Lebanon’s waste management crisis and its turbulent political landscape and combines the country’s strife with the global climate crisis. The darkly comic drama pairs Oscar-nominated Lebanese star and filmmaker Nadine Labaki (“Capernaum”) and Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri (“The Band’s Visit”) as a couple who has moved from Beirut to live idyllically in the mountains, until one day the government decides to build a garbage landfill right beside their house.