Heaven Without People

Heaven Without People; Arabic: غداء العيد‎, romanized: Ghada El Eid, lit. 'Festive Lunch') is the debut feature-length film written and directed by Lucien Bourjeily. It premiered in the main Muhr Awards competition section of the 14th Dubai International Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize award.[1][2][3][4][5][6] It went on to win the Global Vision Award at the 2018 Cinequest Film Festival and both the "Special Jury Prize" and "Ensemble Cast" award at the Festival des cinémas arabes à Paris. Furthermore, it competed in many international film festivals and was nominated for the Jordan Ressler award at the 2018 Miami International Film Festival, the Critics' Choice Award at the 2018 Hamburg Film Festival and the Best World Fiction film award at the 2018 LA Film Festival.

Heaven Without People (Film)
Directed byLucien Bourjeily
Produced byFarah Shaer
Lucien Bourjeily
Written byLucien Bourjeily
StarringSamira Sarkis
Jenny Gebara
Nadim Abou Samra
Laeticia Semaan
Farah Shaer
Ghassan Chemali
Nancy Karam
Jean Paul Hage
Hussein Hijazi
Wissam Botrous
Etafer Aweke
Toni Habib
Mohamad Abbas
CinematographyAhmad Al Traboulsi
Release date
  • 6 December 2017 (2017-12-06) (Dubai)
  • 1 March 2018 (2018-03-01) (Lebanon)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryLebanon
LanguageLebanese Arabic

Synopsis

"When a large family comes together for the first time in two years over Easter lunch, tensions bubble to the surface in surprising ways as they navigate an unforeseen conflict that threatens to derail their reunion. Older and younger generations clash as each of the family members confront their own political and moral hypocrisies and slowly unravel the ties that bind."

Cast
  • Samira Sarkis as Josephine (Aka Joujou)
  • Wissam Botrous as Antoine (Her husband)
  • Nadim Abou Samra as Serge
  • Laeticia Semaan as Leila
  • Farah Shaer as Rita
  • Jenny Gebara as Noha (Josephine's sister)
  • Ghassan Chemali as Rabih
  • Nancy Karam as Christine
  • Jean Paul Hage as Elias
  • Hussein Hijazi as Gaby
  • Toni Habib as Sami (Noha's son)
  • Etafer Aweke as Zoufan
  • Mohamad Abbas as Nabil (Gaby's friend)
  • Ivy Helou as Yara (Elias and Christine's daughter)

Awards
Award/Festival Category Winner/Nominee Won
Dubai International Film Festival Special Jury Prize Lucien Bourjeily Won
Miami International Film Festival Jordan Ressler Screenwriting Award Lucien Bourjeily Nominated
RiverRun International Film Festival Best Film Lucien Bourjeily Nominated
Cinequest Film Festival Global Vision Award Lucien Bourjeily Won
Independent Film Festival Boston Best Film Lucien Bourjeily Nominated
Festival des Cinémas Arabes à Paris Special Jury Prize Lucien Bourjeily Won
Festival des Cinémas Arabes à Paris Best Ensemble Cast Ensemble Cast Won
Los Angeles Film Festival World Fiction - Best Film Lucien Bourjeily Nominated
Hamburg Film Festival Critic's Choice Award Lucien Bourjeily Nominated
Festival du film arabe de Fameck Grand Prix Lucien Bourjeily Won
Washington DC FilmFest Jury Prize Arabian Sights Lucien Bourjeily Won
Mostra de València Golden Palm Lucien Bourjeily Nominated
St. Louis International Film Festival Joe Pollack Jury Award Lucien Bourjeily Nominated
Cairo International Film Festival Salah Abu Seif Award Lucien Bourjeily Nominated

References
  1. "DIFF Muhr Feature Line-Up revealed". Gulf News. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  2. "Heaven Without People Official Selection at the 2017 Dubai International Film Festival". DIFF. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  3. "Captivating cinema in Muhr Feature – Regional storytelling takes centre stage at DIFF". Arab Times. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  4. "Dubai unveils full 2017 Arab feature competition line-up". Screen Daily. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  5. "5 Must-See Arabic Films at the 2017 Dubai International Film Festival". Vogue Magazine. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  6. "Lebanese helmer Lucien Bourjeily scores the special jury prize for 'Heaven Without People'". Variety. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
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