Ship of fools
Animation Documentary Film (2020)
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Director: Alia Haju,
Co-Author: Lea Najjar
Camera: Jan Fabi
Animation: Amelie Kahlo & Alexia Mokry
Editor: Tobias Wilhelmer
Music Composer: Huda Asfour
Sound Design & Mixing: Luis Schöffend
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A production of Paradoks Films
Amid the tumult of Beirut, Alia meets Abu Samra, a man training to gain superpowers. She decides to train with him. Their shared monsters help them make sense of the insanity of Lebanon.
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She didn't even know they were bombs. When her father could no longer pretend they were falling stars, the family fled to Beirut, later escaping the country.
At 18, she returns, discovering the jungle of her war-torn country which clashes with her illusions of a homeland. With the harsh reality surrounding her, Alia shifts from art into visual journalism covering the Syrian war and Lebanon. The pictures eat at her. The injustices pile stones over her heart.
Seeking refuge at Beirut’s seaside, she meets Abu-Samra. A supernatural force talks to him through television giving him the mission to fight evil. Is this “Lebanese superman” mad? She is drawn to his world, a world the sane fear. He advises her to look at the sky and the sea instead of the pictures of death and she finally quits her job.
A revolution sparks. The mad of the city rise in hope for a future. But in 2020, the collective dreams fade. The revolution stalls, the economy collapses, the super-villain government clings to power. Then the heart of the city is shattered by a deafening explosion. Beirut is on its deathbed. The mad are still waiting insidiously.
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