Une Chanson dans la tête - ميلودراما حبيبي

Trailer for Melodrama Habibi

Hani Tamba released this long fiction, his first one in France, a pity that it wasn't released earlier in Lebanon this crowded summer. My beliefs is that it would have compete well with the other American movies. In France, it might not be considered as general public movie, but the first days it was a hit I suppose. The movie made a great bi-lingual movie, although some lines may not seem as natural for Lebanese (an oracle which speaks almost exclusively in French!) which reveals the Lebanese openness to other cultures. Behind the story, the most highlighted theme that we may extract is the focus on the memory, and how weak are humans relying on it. This theme can be touched in the director's award winning short After Shave where we can find other common subjects. One of these, is his choice of the music composer, Khaled Mouzanar whose talent marked his wife's movie as well. Regarding the cast, I was excited with Julia Kassar's presence, it's a shame that her role was so short, even though her talent was shining in the little space she was given.
Even though the ending was a bit pessimistic for Lebanon future, in my opinion, this Tamba's first feature was a success, only missing its release in Lebanon.

Upcoming movies in 2008

So, the year 2007 have almost ended, with films being welcomed by critics such as "Caramel", and "a lost man". "Under the bombs" or "تحت القصف" by Philipe Aractingi - Director of Bosta - will be released on December 20th in Lebanon to continue showing through trough the upcoming 2008 new year. This film have received pretty good critics, and its trailer looks promising. We should note as well the many awards won by this movie, The Gold Muhr award as well as the best actress award for Nada Abou Farhat was awarded lately during the Dubai Film Festival.

Trailer of "Under the bombs"

"Falling from earth" or "و على الأرض السماﺀ" by Chadi Zeneddine, is scheduled to be released later in 2008 and has already premiered during Dubai Film Festival. Some making of the movie have been released lately, with a great cast including Rafic Ali Ahmad, this movie cannot be but something good (Note that this movie was first titled as "Waiting for Beirut").

Making of "Falling from earth"

"Khalass" or "خلص" by Borhan Alaouie has just been released into some theaters in Lebanon. It's ashame that this movie isn't showing on a much greater scale. Maybe because it have not been considered as a commercial movie. It should be noted as well that this movie have been shown as well during the Dubai Film Festival where it have been awarded two awards: the Best Screenplay award and Best Editor Award.

Stills from "Khalass"

"Melodram habibi" or "ميلودراما حبيبي" the first feature by Hany Tamba - Director of Beyrouth after shave - is scheduled to be released as well in 2008 with a mix between a french and Lebanese team. We're expecting the best from a Cezar winner.

Making of "Melodrama Habibi"

With three movies scheduled to be released till now, we hope that the year 2008 will be a good year for the Lebanese film industry despite all the political conflict in the country and the region. Some films are still under developement, but the release date is not yet clear, for instance Joanna Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige - Directors of A perfect day - are working on some project with Catherine Deneuve called "Je veux voir".

Photo from "Je veux voir"

Finally, I'll remind that "Caramel" is set to be released in american theaters on February 1st 2008 (distributed by Roadside Attractions). The American trailer can be seen below.

The American trailer for "Caramel"

Beirut after shave - بيروت بعد الحلاقة

"After shave" the award winning short

OK, you must have find it yourself, but I should note that this post will be the first about a short feature, all past posts were orbiting the long features from Lebanon. It's also as you might have find out yourself the first posts where you can watch the whole video that the post is about (not just a trailer). Passing this introduction, if I can call it that, the short tell the story of one man who couldn't accept the death of his wife during the war. The cast was impressive, grouping Rafic Ali Ahmad along with Julia Kassar and having Mahmoud Mabsout and Fadi Raaydi, no wonder it earned the Cezar, what would it got if it was a long!! The story is nicely written, the music is sensual as well (no surprise here since Khaled mouzanar, Caramel's composer is the one who made it for this short, and Labaki chose him after hearing his work in this movie). It was too good for a short, pretty well done. The only regret is that the director didn't hire a Lebanese-only artistic team, it is not bad to have international collaboration, but it would've been good to find what Lebanese can achieve themself. But sometimes this kind of constraints is imposed by the kind of finance a film get. Anyway Hany Tamba did a great job, you can tell yourself since you can watch the whole short here and tell your opinion. We only wish the best for Tamba, and cannot wait to see his new film Melodrama Habibi out.
Below you can find an interview during the filming of "Melodrama Habibi", more interviews about this movie can be found on my youtube channel.

Interview with Hany Tamba about Melodrama Habibi