In Memoriam ...

This week witnessed a big loss for the Lebanese artistic community. A great talent that contributed in defining lines of Arabic and Lebanese films would not be forgotten any time soon. Her marks will remain shining in the history of our culture.

Her best known works include "The Kite" which was honored with the silver Lion award in the Venice film festival.

Randa Chahal, Rest In Peace...

The kite - طيارة من ورق

Trailer for the Kite

The kite (le cerf-volant - طيارة من ورق) has been released on 2003 in Lebanon. It tells a story of young girl who lives in a small druze town in the south of Lebanon near the occupied zone that was controlled by Israel after the 1982 invasion. She was forced to get married to another young boy in a town across the occupied zone. Although the story didn't focus on the Israeli actions during that sad period of occupation, one can easily sense from the film the misery of Lebanese near influence of those occupation forces.
Julia Kassar and Liliane Nemri were great in their acting role. Director Randa Chahal Sabagh successfully reflected the misery of Lebanese near the influence of those Israeli occupation forces without making it as the main subject in the storyline. The film was a drama with a bit of humor every once and then, and having Ziad Rahbani in the movie (even if it was guest star role) gives the film another flavor, while the ending was a bit unexpected.
It's noteworthy that the film collected some 3 awards in the Venice Film Festival 2003, apart some nominations in other film festivals. As its precedents in this blog, watching this movie is strongly recommended.
Waiting Randa Chahal next feature movie ...