Alephia 2053

Alephia 2053 is a 2021 Arabic-language animated feature set in a desaturated future Arab world ruled by a despotic dictator. Depicting a dystopian future in which a group of activists overthrows an oppressive regime. The film was released on YouTube on 22 March 2021. L'Orient-Le Jour described it as the first fictional animated feature film for adults in Arabic.^[1] Euronews considered it as a small revolution in Arab cinema and animation.^[2]

Alephia 2053
Official poster
Directed by	Jorj Abou Mhaya
Written by	Bassem Breish
Produced by	Rabi' Sweidan, Marwan Harb and Jules Kassas
Music by	Karim Khneisser
Production company	Spring Entertainment
Release date	21 March 2021 (2021-03-21)
Running time	60 minutes
Country	Lebanon
Language	Arabic

Production

The animated feature was created by a Lebanese company, Spring Entertainment, with partial backing from French animation studio Malil'Art. The soundtrack and most of its graphical animation was done in Lebanon.^[1] The film was produced by Rabi' Sweidan, Marwan Harb and Jules Kassas and illustrated and directed by Jorj Abou Mhaya. According to Sweidan, the repression, resistance and revolution portrayed in Alephia does not depict the history of a single country but instead draws from familiar social conditions around the world. Multiple sources described the events of the feature as being similar to the events of the 2011 Arab Spring.^[3][4][5]

 

Art work Alephia 2053

Reception

After the release in March 2021, the film quickly went viral on YouTube and other streaming services.^[6] As of 29 April, the feature had accrued over 8 million views on YouTube.^[7]

References

1. "" Alephia 2053 ", " un film fait par nous et pour nous "" [“Alephia 2053”, “a film made by us and for us”]. L'Orient-Le Jour (in French). 2021-04-14. from the original on 2021-05-03. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
2. "Alephia 2053 est le premier film d'animation arabe qui parle de la chute d'une dictature" [Alephia 2053 is the first Arab animated film about the fall of a dictatorship.]. Euronews (in French). April 28, 2021. from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
3. "Dystopie. "Alephia 2053", le premier film d'animation en arabe qui imagine la chute d'un régime autoritaire" [Dystopia. “Alephia 2053”, the first animated film in Arabic which imagines the fall of an authoritarian regime]. Courrier international (in French). 2021-04-19. from the original on 2021-05-02. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
4. "Alephia 2053, animated Arabic dystopian drama, crosses 8 mn views on YouTube". Firstpost. 2021-04-29. from the original on 2021-05-02. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
5. "Alephia 2053: 'Dictator toppling' film takes Arab world by storm". ARY NEWS. 2021-04-28. from the original on 2021-05-02. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
6. "Alephia 2053: Animated thriller strikes a chord in Arab world". www.aljazeera.com. from the original on 2021-05-06. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
7. "Lebanese animated feature depicts Arabs' future through past upheaval |". AW. from the original on 2021-05-03. Retrieved 2021-05-02.