Documentary, 75 min., Arabic with Eng. ST
A man and his tiny dog have something in common: obsessive compulsive anxiety disorder. Throughout their quest to heal, we dissect into pieces the surroundings - in its upbringing, fears and constant inner conflict. A memory is recalled; a memory filled with fear, violence, war, love and a past almost depicting itself again in the present and in the future. The setting is a family’s house. A father, a mother, sons, daughters and grandchildren living on a versant in Lebanon. The time is when beauty faded and ugliness and expiation prevailed. The man is the director, the dog is the mirror and the film is the instrument.
EUME Discussion
Thu 11 May 2017 | 20:00–22:00
Thu 11 May 2017 | 20:00–22:00
Diaries of a Flying Dog
Film by Bassem Fayad, Lebanon/UAE 2014
Werkstatt der Kulturen, Wissmannstraße 32, 12049 Berlin
Bassem Fayad is a lebanese Director of Photography who lives in Beirut. He has worked extensively as DOP of films on the Middle East, working in Libya, Lebanon, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia and Cairo.
In 2002, he was selected by Kodak International as one of the 10 best talents in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. In 2003-2004, Bassem directed and shot Beirut-Baghdad, which received a Special Mention at the Mediterranean Film Festival in Montpellier and The Road Beyond the Sunset that won the Public Award at the Ayam Beirut al Cinema’iya Festival and Best Documentary at the Al Jazeera Film Festival in 2005. In 2008, he was the Director of photography of the documentary “The One Man Village” by Simon El Habre that won over 10 international prizes. In 2011, he joined Mr. El Habre shooting his new film “Gate # 5”.
More recently, Fayad has worked as DOP with renown directors: Mohamad Soueid on “The Sky Above”, Akram Zaatari on “Letter To A Refusing Pilot” and “Beirut Exploaded views” among others, as well as Ghassan Salhab on his new feature “The Valley”.
This film screening and the discussion is part of the Arabic film series “Beyond Spring”, organized by Mayadin Al-Tahrir e.V., EUME and the Werkstatt der Kulturen.