Heaven Without People
Heaven Without People; Arabic: غداء العيد, romanized: Ghada El Eid, lit. 'Festive Lunch') is the debut feature-length film written and directed by Lucien Bourjeily. It premiered in the main Muhr Awards competition section of the 14th Dubai International Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize award.[1][2][3][4][5][6] It went on to win the Global Vision Award at the 2018 Cinequest Film Festival and both the "Special Jury Prize" and "Ensemble Cast" award at the Festival des cinémas arabes à Paris. Furthermore, it competed in many international film festivals and was nominated for the Jordan Ressler award at the 2018 Miami International Film Festival, the Critics' Choice Award at the 2018 Hamburg Film Festival and the Best World Fiction film award at the 2018 LA Film Festival.
| Heaven Without People (Film) | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Lucien Bourjeily |
| Written by | Lucien Bourjeily |
| Produced by | Farah Shaer Lucien Bourjeily |
| Starring | Samira Sarkis Jenny Gebara Nadim Abou Samra Laeticia Semaan Farah Shaer Ghassan Chemali Nancy Karam Jean Paul Hage Hussein Hijazi Wissam Botrous Etafer Aweke Toni Habib Mohamad Abbas |
| Cinematography | Ahmad Al Traboulsi |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | Lebanon |
| Language | Lebanese Arabic |
Synopsis edit
"When a large family comes together for the first time in two years over Easter lunch, tensions bubble to the surface in surprising ways as they navigate an unforeseen conflict that threatens to derail their reunion. Older and younger generations clash as each of the family members confront their own political and moral hypocrisies and slowly unravel the ties that bind."
Cast edit
- Samira Sarkis as Josephine (Aka Joujou)
- Wissam Botrous as Antoine (Her husband)
- Nadim Abou Samra as Serge
- Laeticia Semaan as Leila
- Farah Shaer as Rita
- Jenny Gebara as Noha (Josephine's sister)
- Ghassan Chemali as Rabih
- Nancy Karam as Christine
- Jean Paul Hage as Elias
- Hussein Hijazi as Gaby
- Toni Habib as Sami (Noha's son)
- Etafer Aweke as Zoufan
- Mohamad Abbas as Nabil (Gaby's friend)
- Ivy Helou as Yara (Elias and Christine's daughter)
Awards edit
| Award/Festival | Category | Winner/Nominee | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai International Film Festival | Special Jury Prize | Lucien Bourjeily | Won |
| Miami International Film Festival | Jordan Ressler Screenwriting Award | Lucien Bourjeily | Nominated |
| RiverRun International Film Festival | Best Film | Lucien Bourjeily | Nominated |
| Cinequest Film Festival | Global Vision Award | Lucien Bourjeily | Won |
| Independent Film Festival Boston | Best Film | Lucien Bourjeily | Nominated |
| Festival des Cinémas Arabes à Paris | Special Jury Prize | Lucien Bourjeily | Won |
| Festival des Cinémas Arabes à Paris | Best Ensemble Cast | Ensemble Cast | Won |
| Los Angeles Film Festival | World Fiction - Best Film | Lucien Bourjeily | Nominated |
| Hamburg Film Festival | Critic's Choice Award | Lucien Bourjeily | Nominated |
| Festival du film arabe de Fameck | Grand Prix | Lucien Bourjeily | Won |
| Washington DC FilmFest | Jury Prize Arabian Sights | Lucien Bourjeily | Won |
| Mostra de València | Golden Palm | Lucien Bourjeily | Nominated |
| St. Louis International Film Festival | Joe Pollack Jury Award | Lucien Bourjeily | Nominated |
| Cairo International Film Festival | Salah Abu Seif Award | Lucien Bourjeily | Nominated |
References edit
- ^ "DIFF Muhr Feature Line-Up revealed". Gulf News. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ . DIFF. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ "Captivating cinema in Muhr Feature – Regional storytelling takes centre stage at DIFF". Arab Times. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ "Dubai unveils full 2017 Arab feature competition line-up". Screen Daily. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ "5 Must-See Arabic Films at the 2017 Dubai International Film Festival". Vogue Magazine. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
- ^ "Lebanese helmer Lucien Bourjeily scores the special jury prize for 'Heaven Without People'". Variety. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
External links edit
- Official website
- Heaven Without People at IMDb