Vanishing
Fall Grants 2019 - Development Stage
Lucien Bourjeily / Feature Narrative / Lebanon, Qatar / 90 min / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Drama, Women, Politics, Social Issues, Family
Synopsis
In modern-day Beirut, single mother Rita juggles her work as an investigative journalist with that of caretaker to both her eight-year-old daughter and her elderly mother. A balance made possible only with the crucial help of Zofan—an Ethiopian helper, who has lived with them for several years. However, one day, while Rita is busy filming a report about illegal and corrupt quarries, Zofan mysteriously disappears without a trace. Rita becomes totally engulfed in this intriguing mystery. As she investigates Zofan’s disappearance, Rita’s life is thrown off balance, and she discovers the hidden side of her helper’s life with unexpected consequences on her own.
Credits
- Director
- Lucien Bourjeily
- Screenwriter
- Lucien Bourjeily
- Production Company
- BeirutCUT
About the Director
Lucien Bourjeily is a Lebanese writer, director, and political activist who has sought refuge in storytelling from an early age. His work as a writer/director of both film and theatre awarded him the Fulbright Scholarship to earn his MFA in Filmmaking (2013) at the Loyola Marymount University in LA. He wrote/directed more than a dozen plays, two of them were banned in Lebanon, and another two premiered at the London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT). In 2014, he was nominated for the “Freedom of Expression” award in London by Index on Censorship. His debut feature film ‘Heaven Without People’ (2017) travelled to more than twenty-five film festivals worldwide and won six awards, including the Special Jury Prize at the Dubai International Film Festival.