Elie Njeim

Maki & Zorro

The Insult

After an emotional exchange between a Lebanese Christian and a Palestinian refugee escalates, the men end up in a court case that gets national attention.

Salamat from Germany

Desperate to escape Lebanon and settle in Europe, Lillo buys himself a Syrian passport and is ready to appropriate the Syrian identity to obtain asylum. However, what he might not be ready for yet, is everything that comes along with being a Syrian refugee today.

The 4th Wall

Lebanon, 1982. To keep a promise made to an old friend, Georges, an idealistic theater director, travels to Beirut for a project as utopian as it is risky: to stage the play Antigone on the front line, in order to steal a moment of peace from the raging civil war. The characters will be played by actors from different political and religious camps. Lost in a city and a conflict he knows nothing about, Georges is guided by Marwan. As fighting resumes, everything is soon called into question, and Georges, who falls in love with Imane, has to face up to the reality of war.

Circumstance

A wealthy Iranian family struggles to contain a teenager's growing sexual rebellion and her brother's newfound conservatism.

Costa Brava, Lebanon

Members of a family quit the polluted, rubbish-strewn city of Beirut for an idyllic mountain home. However, their dreams of a utopian existence are shattered by the construction of a landfill on the boundary of their land.

One Last Time

Toufic, a widower in his ‘80s, answers the phone to be told of yet another friend who has died. He is lost in mournful contemplation when a beautiful woman mistakenly knocks on his door with a parcel, awakening something long dormant in Toufic. He consults with his grocery store owner's charming son Roni who introduces him to a dating application. Toufic is primed to swipe right on every pretty young face, but the absurdity of real life intervenes.

Hell's Gate

Living under an authoritarian regime in 2052 Beirut, a secluded man's life changes when a technical failure brings a fugitive woman to his doorstep.

Are You Glad I'm Here

A millennial American girl befriends a Lebanese housewife and disrupts her ordered life; one night they find themselves accidental partners-in-crime.

A Night of Riots

During a riot, a man attempts to find shelter inside a family's home. However, he soon realizes that his life is more in danger inside the house, rather than outside.