WARSHA
Genre
Drama
Running time
16 minutes
Year
2022
Language
Arabic
Subtitle
English
Country
Lebanon and France
Director
Dania Bdeir
Bio
Producer
Coralie Dias, Carine Ruszniewski, Pierre Sarraf, Dania Bdeir
Cast
Khansa
Scriptwriter
Dania Bdeir
A Syrian builder in Beirut decides to replace a colleague who died in an accident in a towering, hazardous crane. Dozens of metres above the city, away from prying eyes, he experiences the freedom no one grants him elsewhere. His deepest essence breaks through spectacularly.
Other movies
HANAMI
Director: Denise Fernandes
The remote volcanic island of Fogo, off the coast of Cape Verde, is a difficult place to make a living. Like many other young people, Nia chooses to go, leaving her new baby Nana to be raised by her grandmother. Nana is observant and sensitive; when she develops a high fever and is sent to recover with a healer under the volcano, she immediately responds to the magical atmosphere of the island’s interior. It is as if the island itself, along with the network of women who give the film a strong feminine energy, is caring for her. A moving story about longing and belonging, culminating in the older Nana’s quandary: should she stay here forever, or follow her mother into the wider world?
SHAFIKA AND METWALI
Director: Ali Badrakhan
Chosen by festival Honoree guest Mona Zaki, who is fascinated by the iconic Egyptian actress Souad Hosni. Drawing on a folk tale about a young man who murders his wayward sister, Ali Badrakhan gave the traditional story a new timeframe and socio-political twist, creating a work of art in the process. Metwally is a villager forced by the authorities to work as a labourer on the Suez Canal project, leaving his sister Shafiqi (Souad Hosni) alone and destitute. When he eventually returns, he discovers that his sister has succumbed to the attentions of the district chief’s son, dishonoring the family, and kills her. The original story saw him as justified, but Badrakhan gives it another twist to show both brother and sister as victims of an oppressive social system. The film was an immediate success; it remains a beloved classic.
SUKKAR: SABAABAA W HOUBOUB AL KHARZIZ
Director: Tamer Mahdy
A beautiful day turns into a miserable one after the whole city gets infected with chickenpox. The children and the workers in the orphanage get infected as well and they try their best to figure out how to cure themselves. A doctor develops a vaccine for the disease against the approval of the policemen in the city. The children visit a magician called Frotto so he would cure their chickenpox. The children are rushed to the hospital after Frotto's failed attempts to cure them. An angel sent from heaven called Anisa, guides the children after they reach the hospital and she stays with them until the vaccine that is being developed by the doctor gets approved. The annual Circus visits the city and the children get invitations from Daddy- Long-Legs. After attending the Circus, Sukkar and her friends realize that the animals are being mistreated and they make a plan to save them. Sukkar celebrates her birthday in the orphanage with her friends. As a gift, Daddy-Long-Legs grants Sukkar a once in a lifetime opportunity and he sends her to a private school. The children get emotional and a feud occurs between Tarek and Sukkar. The children follow Sukkar to the train station to say goodbye for the last time but they get shocked at the quick transformation that happened with their dearest friend.
THE LAST RONIN
Director: Maksim Shishkin
Haunted by the ghosts of the past, lone traveller Ronin wanders the post-apocalyptic wastelands in search of his father's killer. The devastation caused by climate change led to a global nuclear war, destroying civilisation as we know it: lands are scorched and cities destroyed. Electrical equipment no longer works and gasoline has long lost the properties that made it the world's greatest resource. The main currency in this new world is AK47 cartridges. Everywhere Ronin goes, he encounters blood-thirsty headhunters and rogue gangs all fighting for scraps in this dangerous new world. Then, one day, Ronin meets a wayward teenage girl who offers him a precious bounty for escorting her to her birthplace, a journey that will require all his fighting skills.
