Assa, a fish in a bowl(2023)

Lebanon, France, Denmark, Arabic, Amharic - 108 min

Director

Dahlia Nemlich

Color

Length

108 min

Language

Arabic, Amharic

Producer

Marine Vaillant

INFORMATION

mvaillant@specialtouchstudios.com

Assa, a fish in a bowl

Lebanon, France, Denmark

LogLine

A Lebanese couple hires a new Ethiopian maid, Yasmine / Assa, to care for their child and manage the house. As she becomes a part of their lives, she begins to unearth hidden tensions.

Synopsis

Assa, a 25 y/o Ethiopian live-in maid, starts a new job at the Haddad family. Rami and Leila, a young Lebanese couple, with a 3 y/o boy named Wael. It's not Assa's first rodeo. For her, it's just another job, another family to take care of, another home where her passport is taken away from her. Almost invisible, she sees and hears everything. She even puts up with Rami's mother, Amal, and her trust issues towards her. She quickly understands the dynamics of this not-so-perfect family: Leila, fighting for her independence against her domineering mother-in-law; Rami, under overwhelming pressure from his dad’s failing business he has to run; Amal, a lonely grandmother looking for a purpose; and Wael, a little boy left alone with Assa most of the time. She gets attached to that boy, both yearning for any kind of love. Keeping her distance with him is harder than she thought. Without clear boundaries given to her, Yasmine isn't sure how she should navigate this delicate ground. But she can't escape her harsh reality for long. Manipulated by Rami, she becomes a scapegoat. As she realizes she'll never truly be part of the family, Assa accepts her real fate and keeps the secrets under the rug.

Dahlia Nemlich

Director

Director’s Statement

In Lebanon, and most of the Middle-East, the Kafala law is supported by an archaic system allowing one to “own” a domestic migrant worker and have them live under the same roof, without any labor law protecting them. This social drama aims to shed light on a world that is marginalized, yet is the backbone that allows us to maintain the bubble of comfort we have in Lebanon. How do we define the relationship between employer/employee within the intimate space we call home? What does this person, an integral part of the family but not considered as such, represent? Humanity is capable of the best and the worst and the film is a reflection of this fine line that we all cross everyday. This brings us to our role in society, as men and women but also as part of our social ranking. Who we are and where do we come from? Our identity is shaped by our experiences, and by the expectations that surround us. Although we may try to challenge it, we cannot completely escape these social constructs. So what are dignity and freedom in the end? Each of our characters have a different definition of these concepts and they navigate through life according to their definition, without questioning it; until it is too late. By shedding light on this marginalized world, the film urges viewers to confront the uncomfortable truths about our society and to work towards a more just and equitable future.

Marine Vaillant

Producer

Producer’s Note

I am proud to produce Assa, a fish in a bowl, written by Dahlia Nemlich. I have been working with this great director for many years now. I met her while I was living in Lebanon. She had a great experience in directing advertisements and I wanted to support her will to go into fiction. I produced her first short fiction, Roadblock, which premiered at El Gouna Film Festival in 2020. Written by Pascal Seigneurie, the film won the Khayrallah Prize and the FIFOG d’argent in 2022. We recently finished the production of Dahlia Nemlich’ second short, Somewhere in Between, co-produced by Muhamad Taymour, Egyptian co- producer of I’m Afraid to Forget Your Face, Palme d’Or 2020 short fiction winner. SIB will make its world premiere during the Red Sea Film Festival 2023. Dahlia Nemlich has been working on the development of her first feature film, Assa, a fish in a bowl, for over a year now. We got selected to the Less Is More ateliers in 2022, and in 2023, to the Meditalents Lab Meds. I saw Dahlia becoming more and more confident in her artistic point of view. She learnt how to affirm her uniqueness, and her special relationship to image and sounds. Her approach of cinema is delicate and delivers films that emotionally involve the viewers across borders. Dahlia Nemlich unfolds a very sensitive film, to portray a society beyond Lebanon, revealing the abject normalization of modern slavery.

Producer’s Filmography

Marine Vaillant lived more than ten years in Lebanon and she keeps until today a deep link with the region, to encourage the emergence of new talents, and to produce experienced directors through films marked by a strong mix of cultures, like her career.

With Dewberries Films, a company that she created in 2020, she produces short films.

Her latest release, Les Chenilles directed by Michelle and Noel Keserwany, won the Golden Bear Award. With Special Touch Studios, a production company whose ambition is to renew the imagination by proposing other views on the world, her focus is on the MENA region. - Dead Dog (90’) by Sarah Fancis. Placeless Films (LB) DFI, OIF, Red Sea, in kinds QUMRA

- Between The Two of Us ...Marseille (90’) by Dima Al Joundi. Crystal Films (LB)

Cinémed – BCP – Medimed Red Sea

- Niemeyer 4 Ever (90’) by Aurélia Makdessi. Mayana Films - May Odeh (GER) Meditalents 2021 Régions Ile de France - Sud

- Assa, a Fish in a Bowl (90’) by Dahlia Nemlich. The Talkies (LB), Zentropa Productions 3 ApS (Denmark) LIM, Meditalents, CineGouna SpringBoard

- Ouzkourini (70’) by Michelle Keserwany PTD Distribution (Lux), Aliante (IT) Cité des Arts, CEE Animation workshop