B.A.H.R Alphabet
Fall Grants 2024 - Production Stage
Sabine El Chamaa / Feature Documentary / Lebanon, Qatar / 65 min / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Essay Documentary
Synopsis
This is a film about time, plastic floating underwater, tiny sparkling jellyfish, legends, interrupted rituals, blood-red sea anemones, and the various shades of blue of the Mediterranean Sea. It is also about waiting through the winter for the month of May, when a female sea turtle returns to the shore of her birth, where she hatched twenty years ago. It is about longing for the month of August to witness the hatchlings racing towards the crashing waves, guided by the relentless care of those dedicated to protecting the coastal shores of their birth.
Credits
- Director
- Sabine El Chamaa
- Screenwriter
- Sabine El Chamaa
- Producer
- Sabine El Chamaa, Ramzy Haddad
- Production Company
- Sabafilms
About the Director
Sabine El Chamaa is a Lebanese filmmaker and educator who holds a PhD in Communications, Media, and Cultural Studies from Goldsmiths, University of London, and an MFA in Cinematic Arts (Film Production) from the University of Southern California. Sabine worked as an editor on independent film projects in Europe and the United States before returning to Beirut. Her diverse body of work includes fiction and non-fiction films, as well as multidisciplinary installations. Sabine’s current interests focus on the reconstruction of collective and personal memory in relation to embodied experiences and personal archives, such as photographs, diaries, and dream recollections. Sabine’s filmography includes ‘Promenade’, recipient of a Berlin Today Award production grant, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival; ‘Un Mardi’, winner of first prizes at the Dubai Film Festival and the Festival International de Namur (FIFF); ‘One Day and 124 Nights’, recipient of a development award at the Dubai Film Connection; and ‘Lot’s Wife’, which received a film grant from the Doha Film Institute.