EMBODIED CHORUS
Embodied Chorus لن تتركنا الطيور is celebrating WORLD PREMIERE at IDFA 2023! @idfafestival
bodied Chorus لن تتركنا الطيور is nominated for the IDFA Best First Feature Film Award!
What is the shape of a virus? To some, it’s a kiwi, to others, it’s a butterfly, a wart or an unnameable mass. In Embodied Chorus, filmmakers Danielle Davie and Mohamad Moe Sabbah bravely open a dialogue about living with sexually transmitted infections. Drawing from their own experiences and collaborating with five actors, they turn individual testimonials—recorded across the city of Beirut—into an ensemble of personal stories and transformations.
“My biggest fear is changing as a person… I feel like an outsider in my own self,” says one of the people. While the experiences are distinct—in languages, gender identities and sexual orientations—they share the emotions of shock, fear, anger and shame.
At times, the screen becomes a canvas that visualizes people’s inner worlds: images of metamorphosis, search engine results, a body consumed by darkness. Gradually, the conversations move towards recovery and change. Confusion and stigmatization fade away, as people find acceptance within themselves.
See you soon. In cinema.
written & directed by Mohamad Sabbah & Danielle Davie
produced by Julia Wagner, HEARTWAKE films (Germany) & Yara Abi Nader, MADAME LE TAPIS (Lebanon), coproduced by Hélène Walland & Chris Neuman, Wild Fang Films (Luxembourg)
with Caroline Hatem, Basma Baydoun, Cyril Kokozaki, Hashem Adnan, Firas Hallak, Danielle Davie & Mohamad Sabbah
Awards & markets:
nominated for Robert Bosch Film Prize 2018 (DIFF Special Award @Berlinale 2018), Beirut Cinema Platform 2018 (Award: Invitation to Rotterdam Lab 2019), Participation in Tripoli Film Festival Pitching Forum 2018 (Awards: Invitation to Cine Gouna Platform, The Postoffice Beirut Finishing award), Jury main award for 'Best project in development', Cinegouna Springboard 2018, Invitation IDFAcademy & IDFA Summer School, selected for IFP Week New York 2020 / Spotlight on documentaries section
confirmed partners:
IDFA Bertha Classic development fund 2018, Springboard El Gouna Egypt: Main Jury Award, Lebanese Ministry of Culture fund 2019, IMS Media Support Denmark 2019, PostOffice Beirut, AFAC Arab Fund for Arts and Culture 2019, BUSAN ACF/AND Asian Cinema Fund 2019, Luxemburg Film Fund, OIF Fonds Images de la Francophonie & IDFA Bertha Fund Europe 2020
https://www.facebook.com/embodiedchorus
https://www.idfa.nl/en/film/bf9dbf29-a3d5-4223-90cd-1052dd38f08a/embodied-chorus/idfa-bertha-fund
