Lebanon, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Arabic - 116 min
myriam@abboutproductions.com
Using weapons, voting booths, or revolting in the streets of Beirut. These are the choices of Georges, Joumana and Perla. As various crises unfold, they're faced with a dilemma: save the world or save themselves?
Three lives, one country, and a fight for change. Joumana Haddad, a feminist activist, nearly wins a corrupt election. Perla Joe, a disillusioned militant, joins the revolution becoming the voice of a breathless people. As for Georges, a former militiaman, he lives among ghosts and chimeras, clinging to the illusion of forgotten accomplishments. Their intertwined destinies reveal a Lebanon struggling to break free from its past. Beyond politics, individual quests take shape.
"Suspended" is deeply rooted in my personal history, shaped by the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) that marked my family. My father and relatives, like many, took up arms during the conflict, returning home broken and impoverished, their stories silenced. This absence of communication and understanding compelled me to create "A Time to Rest (Trêve)" in 2015, a documentary where I probed my uncle and his comrades about their wartime experiences. The specter of this past remains ever-present. Despite the war officially ending in 1990, the warlords clung to power, wreaking havoc on Lebanon. The catastrophic 2020 port explosion stands as a brutal testament to their mismanagement.
Yet, amid this oppressive regime, a resilient civil society emerged, championing democracy, secularism, and social justice. In 2019, Lebanon's youth poured into the streets during the October 2019 Revolution, expressing their profound exhaustion and yearning for change. I was part of this movement. In this era of transformation, I felt compelled to create "Suspended." It witnesses and documents the evolving Lebanon whose future is uncertain. The film captures the essence of a nation in flux, portraying the enduring struggle and the yearning for change.
"Suspended" chronicles the intertwined lives of three individuals across different generations, spanning the tumultuous years from 2018 to 2021, set against the backdrop of Lebanon's deteriorating state. The film delves into the profound challenges faced by a nation struggling to break free from its constraints. Within the political turmoil, individual narratives emerge, crafting a multifaceted portrayal of personal quests amidst larger sociopolitical battles. Over four years, filmmaker Myriam El Hajj devoted herself to capturing her characters, amassing over 400 hours of footage, encapsulating pivotal moments in the country's history and the tales of three unique generations. This unfolded while the filmmaker herself experienced this unprecedented crisis and had to adapt to it. The film's narrative underwent multiple transformations to mirror Lebanon's evolving crises. Despite the challenges in production, we persevered, securing funding and international support, culminating in our selection for the prestigious Final Cut platform in Venice, where "Suspended" received two awards, propelling us further in post-production. Presently, we have a locked picture with partial sound design and color grading. However, we stand on the verge of completion with a $20,000 shortfall. This crucial amount is needed for final touches, encompassing 3 days of editing, two days of color grading, five. days of sound design and sound mixing, credits finalization, and the creation of the master copies and of vital promotional materials (poster and trailer).
Abbout Productions produces feature films and documentaries with a distinctly Arab voice, expressing the identity of the region. Since 1998, the company has managed to bring together an important network of Arab and Lebanese artists, and produced award-winning films that premiered in prestigious film festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlinale, Locarno, KVIFF and received international distribution. Its filmography includes Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige’s “A Perfect Day” (2005), “I Want to See” (2008) and “Memory Box” (2021); Ghassan Salhab’s “The Last Man” (2006) and “The Valley” (2014); Vatche Boulghourjian’s “Tramontane” (2016); Rana Eid's “Panoptic” (2017); Mohamed Siam’s “Amal” (2017); Oualid Mouaness’ “1982” (2019), Ahmad Ghossein’s “All This Victory” (2019); Ely Dagher's “The Sea Ahead” (2021) and Mounia Akl's “Costa Brava, Lebanon” (2021). The company’s main objective remains to help structure Lebanese and Arab cinema craft into a solid industry.