F i l m m a k e r s
Written by MLT
D A N I E L L E D A V I E
Danielle aka Dada is a documentary filmmaker and visual anthropologist, who loves mulukhiyah - especially when made the Papua New Guinean way. In 1916, she influenced some European artistic creators to call their movement Dadaism. 94 years later, she obtained a PhD in Documentary & Anthropological Cinema in France. Her academic work was based on the Bedouin societies in Syria.
Based in Lebanon now, she works on her personal projects including documentaries and experimental videos, while being a coordinator & assistant professor at various universities in Lebanon: ALBA-UOB, USEK, and UL.
Whenever she is free, Dada loves spending time in her home garden climbing trees with her cats Salvador, Marcel, and André.
FILMOGRAPHY
2023 | Embodied Chorus (72')
2021 | Tastes of Loss (10')
2020 | Singeuse (5')
2019 | Les Oiseaux (4')
2009 | The Camp (54')
2009 | Bi Oulô (10')
2007 | Mavy (28')
2006 | Kahwat al-Kazaz (15')
2006 | 12 Aout (6')
2005 | Le Pain de ‘Azouba (26')
M O H A M E D S A B B A H
He grew up in a house full of film posters and cinema reels that he does not even remember his first time in a cinema theater. Moe has always played as a formula one driver inside his house aiming to become Michael “Mic” Schumacher. Unfortunately, he ended up crashing into the walls and destroying the film posters.
Mohamed, or Moe, is a Lebanese filmmaker whose films deal with body relationships, death, family, and politics. Mohamed received his MA in filmmaking with distinction in 2014 from ALBA-UOB, where he currently teaches in vitro fertilization… He always uses public transportation to get around - formula one driver my ass! He never even knew how to drive a car.
FILMOGRAPHY
In post-production | Homeless Hearts (20')
2023 | Embodied Chorus (72')
2018 | There (4')
2017 | Chronic (90')
2014 | Where There Is Nothing But Water (27')
2012 | Awakening (10')
W A S S I M G E A G E A
He was born and raised in a village where all families share the same religion and surname: Geagea. He never actually knew that there were other people out there who didn’t share all that with them.
In his household, they only had one TV that would only broadcast a local channel. He used to watch Mexican telenovelas religiously. Since then, he loved making films and he would reenact scenes from the TV series with his friends, so he could be like his heroes Xena, Hercules, and Maria Mercedes. The first time he went to the movies, it was to watch the final episode of a Lebanese series that was screened in the cinema in Zahle. It took him three and a half hours to get there from his village – safe to say he would rather have stayed home. Eventually, he decided to study filmmaking and then make films in order to maybe become a billionaire.
FILMOGRAPHY
2019 | Omé (17')
2011 | My Grandfather Photo (13')
Z E I N A S F E I R
When Zeina came into this world, the doctor announced to her parents that she will not be able to keep quiet. Zeina Sfeir became a "Hakawati" roaming the Globe and telling stories. To have their peace, her parents offer her a camera so that she can start to tell stories through it.
Zeina Sfeir is an award-winning Lebanese documentary filmmaker. She played a role in enhancing the Arab cinema industry in Lebanon and the region, by being a founding member of MC Distribution and Cinema Metropolis which runs the only art house cinema in Lebanon. From 2007 to 2017, she has been programmer and Arab communication and film talent manager at the Dubai International Film Festival in the United Arab Emirates, and has played the role of artistic director of the Beirut Cinema Days in Lebanon.
She is currently handling the Arab press office at the Marrakech International Film Festival in Morocco and at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia.
As a filmmaker, she has directed 12 documentary films and is currently filming her feature documentary THE SILENCE OF THE PLAIN.
Or should we rather say THE SILENCE OF THE SFEIR!
FILMOGRAPHY
In post-production | The Silence of the Plain (68')
2020 | Entre le Cancer et le Corona (5')
2015 | Al Sharek "Palestine Under the Spotlight" (45')
2013 | If Walls Could Talk (52')
2010 | All About My Father (75')
2007 | Life Under Terror (45')
2007 | Neighbors in Need (22')
2006 | Endless Conflict (45')
2004 | Other World of Power (30')
2003 | Ibrik el Zeit (17')
2003 | To Sarah (25')
2001 | In Spite of War (30')
1997 | La Gare de Mon Père (13')