1982
Nineteen Eighty-Two
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الف و تسعمائة و اثنان و ثمانون
1982 Nineteen Eighty-Two
In June of 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon, a country just north of its border was already reeling from its ongoing fractious war. In this feature debut, director Oualid Mouaness revisits this cataclysmic moment in Lebanese history through a different lens: a kid's point-of-view at a quaker school on the outskirts of Beirut. As the geopolitical conflict inches closer and closer, 11-year-old Wissam (Mohamad Dalli) is more intent on finding the courage to tell his classmate that he loves her. For a dreamer like Wissam, who is more likely to be drawing than playing football, it's hard to comprehend the gravity of the impending violence. But for his teachers, Yesmine (Nadine Labaki) and Joseph (Rodrigue Sleiman), the jets in the sky signal something far more dangerous. As they try to mask their growing fears for the sake of the students, they also attempt to hide the fractures in their relationship. They fall on different sides of the political divide and look a way to reconcile a relationship that seems irreconcilable due the nature of the war besieging the country they love.
Fiction, Oualid Mouaness, Libanon/USA/Qatar/Norwey 2019, 100 min, Arabic with German subtitles
Actors: Nadine Labaki Yasmine | Mohamad Dalli Wissam | Gia Madi Joana | Rodrigue Sleiman Joseph | Ghassan Maalouf Majid | Aliya Khalidi Ms. Leila | Lelya Harkous Abir | Saïd Serhan Georges
Director & Writer Oualid Mouaness | Cinematographer Brian Rigney Hubbard | Editors Jad Dani Ali Hassan, Sabine El Gemayel | Sound Design Rana Eid | Music Composer Nadim Mishlawi | Producers Oualid Mouaness, Alix Madigan-Yorkin , Georges Schoucair, Myriam Sassine, Christopher Tricarico | Co-Producers Louis Nader, Ingrid Lill Høgtun Production CompaniesTricycle Logic, Abbout Productions, Mad Dog Films, Barentsfilm, Boo Pictures, Soapbox Films
from the press
Visually Absorbing. A Testament to the strength of a child’s imagination (Variety)
A stirring tribute to innocence. (Cineuropa)
A Revolutionary Film...Unlike anything seen before in Lebanese cinema (Al-Akhbar)
A touching tale of first love and resilience of the human spirit. (Cultured Vultures)
screenings/festivals/awards | director Oualid Mouaness | conversation with the director