MEMORY BOX
O.V. in Arabic and French subtitled in Spanish and English
When Alex, the daughter and granddaughter of Lebanese emigrants, receives a box containing mysterious items at her home in Canada, it opens the door to an unknown part of her mother's past. Celebrated masters of audiovisual memory, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige deliver their most emotive, accessible and pop film, a remembrance of the Lebanese civil war through the personal memories of a teenage girl. The filmmakers pump animated life into the intimate chronicles in the form of illustrated diaries, letters and photo collages of a young girl in the 80s, with a creative style that connects with the most restless expressions of digital communication.
Direction: Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige
Script: Gaëlle Macé, Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige
Cinematography: Josée Deshaies
Editing: Tina Baz
Music: Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, Charbel Haber
Sound: Guillaume le Braz, Rana Eid, Olivier Goinard
Production Design: Maïa El Khoury, Mary Lynn Deachman, Franckie Diago
Cast: Rim Turki, Manal Issa, Paloma Vauthier, Clémence Sabbagh, Hassan Akil
Production: Carole Scotta, Georges Schoucair, Christian Eid, Barbara Letellier, Luc Déry, Kim McCraw, Jasmyrh Lemoine
Production Company: Haut et Court, Abbout Productions, Micro_scope
Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige
Both born in 1969, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige form one of the most renowned couples in the world of cinema and contemporary art. Their feature films A perfect Day (2005), Je veux voir (2008) and The Lebanese Rocket Society (2012, present at the Seville Festival) have made a great impact on the festival and auteur cinema circuit, and succeeded in bringing the dialogue on Lebanon's contemporary history back to life. Joreige and Hadjithomas have also produced numerous photographic and video installations and experimental videos. In addition, they have written articles for numerous publications and have done remarkable teaching work in Lebanon, where they have taught screenwriting and experimental filmmaking. Memory Box, their latest film, premiered at the Berlinale.