When Maryam spoke out - لمّا حكيت مريم

"When Maryam spoke out" DVD poster

The most dramatic Lebanese film I've seen yet. So the movie, which is based on a real story, is about a woman called Maryam who lives with her husband happily until they decide, after some pressure from their community, to try to get pregnant. And the rest of the film shows the ways that Maryam takes in order to keep her husband.

Assad Fouladkar, the director, was the among first (to my knowledge) to have enough courage to attack such issues in the Lebanese society. He was able to collect some awards with his feature, and the Lebanese public as well; the film was a success in Lebanon despite the fact that it was screened in one to two theaters.
The drama was too strong, I was amazed with the acting role of Talal El-Jordi, and especially the performance of Bernadet Hodeib, she's one of the most talented youth Lebanese actresses.
I Hope we see other similar movies in the near future, although Fouladkar is now directing Egyptian series, I'm sure he'll gain success, but I personally prefer see his name on movies like this one. So, as you might already guessed, this movie strongly worth being watched.

P.S. I wasn't able to find the trailer of this movie, so I'm giving another call for anyone who have this trailer to send it to me.

Bosta - بوسطة

Trailer for "Bosta"

This film was a great hit in Lebanon. It was presented as a "100% Lebanese feature film". It's somewhat true since only few Lebanese movies get funding from Lebanese investors. Philippe Aractingi, the writer and director, managed to create a tourism film showing a big part of Lebanese touristic sites.
So as you may already know, the story is about Dabkeh, the traditional Lebanese dance. A group of youth trying to renovate it, and getting rejected by some committee. The story is a bit light, but cheering, colorful,... Some critics called this feature as a Bollywood movie, the director prefers however to put it in Cedarwood category.
Actors were well chosen. Personally, I preferred Liliane Nemri, she always adds a special flavor whenever she contributes to a movie. Sabah appearance gave the movie some extra points. SuperStar presence was notable as well: Rouweida Attieh got a guest role in the movie, Abir Ne'meh dubbed Nadine's voice when singing.
This film does not try to be deep, but surely you'll enjoy it.
Waiting the coming Aractingi movie "Under the bombs", it got its first projection at Venice film festival where it got two awards: the EIUC Human Rights Award and the ARCA Prize for Youths.