International Competition : The Feature films

Trêve

A Time To Rest

Myriam El Hajj

2015
France / Lebanon
1h06
Documentary
Col.

Riad, a middle-aged man, holds a firearm shop in a neighbourhood of Beirut. When he meets up with his friends or goes hunting with them, it is often with the aim of evoking together their memories of the civil war fought in the Christian militia. These memories are covered in a nostalgia of their past youth and a tenacious bitterness towards their enemies of yesterday. Director Myriam El Hajj builds solid architectural images that interrogate—and perhaps over time even manage to articulate—the intimate origins (Riad is El Hajj’s uncle) of endemic warmongering and violence that never seems to depart. She stays on course, maintaining an untenable position and fuelling the fire of controversial issues, while she traverses the minefield of historical responsibilities.
(Mathieu Macheret)

Born in 1983 in Beirut, Myriam El Hajj studied cinéma at Paris 8 University. She directed two short films (Don’t Lead Us Into Temptations, Je n’ai pas vu la guerre à Beyrouth) and various videos. She teaches cinéma at the Lebanese Fine Arts Academy. Trêve is her first feature film. 

Cast
Riad el Hajj, Toni Aramouni, Toni Kenaa, Joseph el Hajj
Screenplay
Myriam El Hajj, Laurent Roth
Photography
Fadi Kassem
Sound
Elia el Haddad, Emmanuel Zouki
Editing
Anita Perez
Production
Abbout Productions, Inthemood...

CONTACT :

Abbout Productions

Renée Awit

renee@abboutproductions.com

2015 Competition