Mare Nostrum

DIRECTOR(S): Rana Kazkaz, Anas Khalaf   COUNTRY: France   YEAR: 2016   LANGUAGE(S): Arabic, English   SUBTITLES: English   RUNNING TIME: 14 min

SECTION: International Forum 2019

SCREENINGS

Sunday, 06.10., 9.30 pm, kinoeins

SYNOPSIS

A man, a girl and a beach: The man throws the girl into the sea, again and again, even though she cannot swim. And that’s how the days go by… Laconically, the Syrian directors Rana Kazkaz and Anas Khalaf depict the terrible decisions that people have to make in a situation from which there is no escape. On the one hand there is war, on the other a sea which appears unconquerable.

RANA KAZKAZ

Rana Kazkaz received a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College in Theatre and Russian and her MFA degree from Carnegie Mellon University/Moscow Art Theater. She earned certificates from the American Film Institute where she attended the Directing Workshop for Women and from the National Theater Institute in Waterford, Connecticut. The award-winning filmmaker will serve as an assistant professor of communication in residence at the Northwestern University in Qatar. Kazkaz’s films have been recognized at the world’s leading film festivals including Cannes, Sundance, Tribeca, Abu Dhabi and others.

FILMOGRAPHY

Kemo Sabe (2007), Exquisite Corpse (2009), Yom Samt (2011), Searching for the Translator (2016), Mare Nostrum (2016)

ANAS KHALAF

After having worked in the oil and gas industry, Anas Khalaf risked everything and turned his sights towards a career in film. Born in Syria, but raised in France, Khalaf moved to Los Angeles in order to work with Frederic Golchan Productions. Whilst in LA, he co-produced the feature Prospect and served as First AD on The Adventures Of Frank Dern. With BintFilm, Khalaf served as Executive Producer on Driving To Zigzigland (Winner Best Film, Amal Festival) and developed Sleeping On Stones (Middle East Screenwriter’s Lab and MFCB, Cannes). Khalaf holds an MBA from the Normandy Graduate School of Business in France.

FILMOGRAPHY

Yom Samt (2011), Deaf Day (2011), Ham (2014), Searching for the Translator (2015), Mare Nostrum (2016)

SCRIPT: Rana Kazkaz   PRODUCER: Anas Khalaf, Raphael Alexandre, Nicolas Leprêtre   CAMERA: Éric Devin   EDITOR: Monique Dartonne   MUSIC: Kinan Azmeh   CAST: Ziad Bakri, Zayn Khalaf

PRODUCTION: Georges Films