Lebanon, English, Arabic - 95 min
Feature Documentary
Total Budget
US $139,200
Confirmed Financing
US $104,700
Contact
reine.razzouk@gmail.com
+9613778171
Shot over the span of 10 years, Hyphen explores womanhood, generational trauma and the aftermath of war on Lebanese society through the lens and relationship of a recovering heroin addict and her filmmaker cousin.
When Nicole reveals to her childhood friend and cousin, Reine, that she’s been addicted to heroin since she was 13, they decide to document Nicole’s rehab journey. Hyphen follows the ups and downs of their relationship as well as Nicole’s struggle to move out into the world as an adult and grown woman despite the lack of economical opportunities and a poisonous cultural upbringing that teaches young women to suppress their ideas and sexuality to follow a set of religious and cultural rules.
Growing up in Ain El Remmaneh, the epicenter of the Lebanese Civil War, I was, logically, immersed in the divisive mentality of “us” and “them”. When I began filming Nicole’s healing journey, I wanted to shed light on the issues of my community, the emotional wounds of the war and the consequences of growing up in such a divided society. However, over the span of 10 years, my motivation behind the film evolved and expanded. I realized that Nicole’s relationship with her parents, her addiction and her struggle for self expression mirrored the disconnect and anger many young Lebanese people feel towards the older generation and their parents. This younger Lebanese generation is eager to break free from the conservative religion-focused norms that stigmatize selfexpression, sexuality, feminism, and political freedom. As it takes a harsh look at family strife, addiction, female sexuality and the post-war Lebanese society, Hyphen is a devastating essay on the precariousness of becoming the woman you want to be when you’ve had little guidance to that end.