Talal Khoury

In a village outside of Beirut, amidst scrap metal, chickens and goats, the quiet Fouad runs a mechanic’s garage with a detached but soothing presence. His customers, both old and young, are invited to sit and drink coffee while they wait for their vehicles to be repaired. In these moments of stillness, the garage becomes a haven for people to express their growing despair amidst the economic collapse that surrounds them. No jobs. Sleepless nights. The burden of school tuition. No one is safe. As the darkness closes in, Fouad must undertake a deeply symbolic, transcendent journey through his own psyche: a search for the other side.

몽골 초원 지대 중심부의 한 지방에서 11살 소년 아므라는 어머니와 아버지, 그리고 동생과 함께 전통 유목 생활을 하고 있다. 가족의 평화로운 생활은 금을 채굴하고 자연 서식지를 파괴하는 국제 기업들의 침략에 의해 위협받게 된다. 아므라의 아버지는 동료 주민들에게 회사의 보상금 제안을 받아들이지 말자고 설득하지만 갑작스러운 교통사고로 목숨을 잃는다. 아므라는 명석한 두뇌와 11살 소년다운 도구를 사용하여 다윗과 골리앗 같았던 아버지의 투쟁을 이어가려 한다.

'Chaos' narrates the story of three women in three different cities. They have given up on life. One lives in Damascus. She has stopped speaking to others entirely, isolating herself in her flat. The other has left Damascus as a result of the war and went to Sweden, where she imprisons herself in her paintings, hoping through them to rid herself of the torments of the past. The third ended up in Vienna and faces an unknown future, like the ghost of a woman who fled Austria after the Second World War. It is a discussion between a woman stuck in Damascus, a second stuck in exile, and a third who has recently left. It is a conversation between the interior and exterior – an impossible conversation.

Panoptic explores Lebanon's schizophrenia. Depicting a nation thriving for modernity while ignoring the vices preventing it from achieving its goal, director Rana Eid examines this paradox through sound, iconic monuments and secret hideouts.

In the midst of a boiling Middle East, while the Lebanese borders are under constant terrorist attacks, a Beiruti couple is battling their midnight anxiety.

The story of the women of Ein El Hilweh refugee camp between 1982-1984 is an important chapter in the history of Palestinian refugee women in Lebanon. After the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the camp was destroyed and its men imprisoned. “The Kingdom of Women” documents the community and organizing spirit of the women during this period, how they were able to rebuild the camp, protect and provide for their families while their men were held captive. Weaving between past and present, animation and daily life, the documentary focuses on seven of these women and honors how women continue to contribute to the survival of the Palestinian community in exile.

It takes four to six minutes for a human to drown. Talal Khoury's film immerses us in the waters of the Mediterranean for this same duration, asking us to meditate on those who've been lost at sea seeking a better life.