The Lebanese Rocket Society (The Lebanese Rocket Society)
Arab Feature Film Competition - Doha Tribecca Film Festival 2012
Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige / Feature Documentary / Lebanon, France, Qatar / 2012 / 95 min / Colour / HDCAM / In Arabic, English, French / Arabic, English subtitles / MENA Premiere
Rated: Parental guidance is advised for viewers under the age of 13. Individuals under the age of 13 are not admitted into cinemas unless accompanied by an individual aged 18 or older.
Synopsis
When filmmakers Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige inadvertently discovered that their native Lebanon launched the first rocket in the Middle East in the 60s, and that the nation was immensely proud of its involvement in the international race to conquer the last frontier, they were surprised and intrigued. Why had such a significant episode in Lebanon’s history been altogether erased from the collective memory? Interviewing scientists, professors and army authorities involved in the development of the rocket project, the directors uncover a dream of future glory that was halted and silenced by international pressure following the Arab-Israeli military conflict of 1967. In bringing this exciting chapter of Lebanese history to light, Hadjithomas and Joreige’s film reflects the reawakening of the hopes and dreams of the peoples of the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Spring.
About the Director
Born within a month of one another in Beirut in 1969, fellow students at Paris Nanterre and partners in film and video art since the late 90s, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige made their joint feature debut in 1999 with ‘The Pink House’. Their last film, ‘I Want to See’ (2008), which followed Catherine Deneuve on a car trip through Lebanon’s war zones, screened in Un Certain Regard at Cannes and won the top prize at Gijon in the same year.
Born within a month of one another in Beirut in 1969, fellow students at Paris Nanterre and partners in film and video art since the late 90s, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige made their joint feature debut in 1999 with ‘The Pink House’. Their last film, ‘I Want to See’ (2008), which followed Catherine Deneuve on a car trip through Lebanon’s war zones, screened in Un Certain Regard at Cannes and won the top prize at Gijon in the same year.
Credits
- Director
- Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige
- Screenwriter
- Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige
- Producer
- Edouard Mauriat, Georges Schoucair
- Editor
- Tina Baz
- Music
- Nadim Mishlawi, Scrambled Eggs, Discipline
- Cinematographer
- Jeanne Lapoirie
- Cast
- Manoug Manougian, John Markarian, General Youssef Wehbé, Harry Koundakjian, Joseph Sfeir, Hampar Karageozian
Contacts
-
Press Contact
Wolf
- Phone:
- +491 577 474 9724
-
Print Source
Arnaud Bélangeon-Bouaziz
- Company:
- Urban Distribution International
- Phone:
- + 33 148 704 655
-
Sales Contact
Frederic Corvez
- Company:
- Udi - Urban Distribution International
- Phone:
- +33 148 707 307