ESQUISSE
Lebanon I Arabic Dialogue With English Subtitles l 17 min
Synopsis
Manal, the writer, and director of the short film, sits down with his production team before filming the casting of Lorraine, a Lebanese actress, reading for the role of “Maya” in the script. As they prepare for her arrival, Manal asks the camera team to fix the setup as he rehearses his interaction with Lorraine with the assistant director, Maria. Everything changes when Maria starts questioning some of Manal’s decisions and choices in the script, which leads to the whole team debating it.
Manal Zakharia
Manal Zakharia is a Lebanese filmmaker and digital film restorer. Born in the north of Lebanon, he moved to Beirut in 2014 to pursue filmmaking studies at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA) where he graduated with a master’s degree in directing in 2020. He moved to France in 2021 to study digital film restoration at the National Audiovisual Institute (INA) in Paris. He is currently based in Paris, alternating between his work as a full-time digital film restorer and his ongoing projects as a writer and director.