Lebanese film makes stop at DTFF Friday, 29 October 2010 06:22

By Fazeena Saleem

DOHA: “Here Comes the Rain”, a Lebanese narrative feature was one of the highlights among the films screened on the third day of Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF) yesterday.

Here comes the Rain stopped in Doha on its way to the Brussels International Independent Film Festival on November.

It was screened under the International Panorama film section. ‘Chatti Ya Dini’ or Here comes the Rain was short-listed, along with 10 others, to receive support from the Sanad film fund – an initiative recently launched by the Abu Dhabi Film Festival to finance and support filmmakers across the Arab world.

The film is Lebanese Director Bahij Hojeij’s second feature film. Here Comes the Rain explores the kidnappings that took place during the Lebanese Civil war, in a 100-minute screening about a 50-year-old man, Ramez, who returns to his family after being abducted for 20 years.

He returns to his family devastated at both physically and emotionally. The character is more psychologically affected. He is obsessed with bags throughout the film. His search for bags can be compared to a child holding onto something, though it does not show any connection with the political background of the film.

After 20 years of torture, Ramez (Hassan Mrad) returns to his wife Marie (Julia Kassar), and his two children — Nadia and Ellie, who were aged five and three when he was kidnapped in the 80s. His sudden return confuses his family and he himself is portrayed as unstable. He is also asthmatic and troubled by another woman, Zainab (Carmen Lebbos) who he struggles to express himself with, every time they meet. Zainab’s husband, Khalil, was abducted 20 years ago, which encourages a profound friendship to blossom between the two characters.

Ramez is hospitalised due to an asthma attack toward the end of the film. He finally confesses to Zainab that he was in the same cell as her husband.

“Khalil got sick and died in jail. I wanted to tell you so many times, but I never knew how to break it to you,” he tells her.

The film also shows black and white footage of a true story about Nayfeh Najjar, a Lebanese mother who writes letters that were published in Al Safeer newspaper in Lebanon in 1984, about her abducted son.

The Peninsula