It’s already that time of the year again! Cabriolet Film Festival proudly comes back in its 9th edition on June 9th, 10th and 11th of 2017 with a very special selected theme: The Traveler.
There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign – Robert Louis Stevenson
Travelers are designated by hundreds of names: refugees, tourists, migrants, sailors, explorers, astronauts, nomads, pilgrims, foreigners, etc. Mr. Brahim Samaha, creator and manager of the festival explains: “Each year, we pick a theme that has made a social impact on an international scaleâ€. The one selected this year is very dear to the organizers as it takes the shape of a tribute to every traveler: the refugees forced to leave, the dreamers longing for magic and every one of us who one day had to leave, to study, to survive, to grow. It goes without saying that most of us holding the Lebanese nationality can relate to this, whether the 4 million of us living here or the 15 millions living abroad.
In this 9th edition, the collaborations with international festivals and local directors has evolved once more, which has made the selection more difficult but mostly, more exciting! Within three nights, CFF fans will get to watch around 40 short films from the world, categorized under fiction, documentary, animation or experimental. The location is of course intact: the famous Gemmayzeh stairs in Beirut which are truly part of the festival’s signature.
This year, Laboratoire d’Art developed a fresh and poetic promotional concept with the participation of a precious guest: Lebanese actor Rodrigue Sleiman, who can be seen both on the printed posters and the commercial which is touring the net and TV stations as we speak. Of course, all of this would not be possible without the much valuable partnership of Université Antonine and more specifically, Mrs. Mirna Mefleh, Head of the audiovisual department and Ms. Daisy Abou Jaoudeh, head of the graphic design and the advertising departments, all at the faculty of information and communication of UA. Along with a group of selected students, they have handled the filming and editing of the commercial as well as the promotional kit design, printed and online. This work process is now a much anticipated yearly tradition both for Laboratoire d’art and Université Antonine. As for the music accompanying the commercial, well, it was composed by the one and only Jean Paul Jalwan, UA instructor and music producer and composer.
Mr Samaha is looking forward to this 9th edition and is eager to see the viewers’ reactions as the short films are simultaneously projected on CFF’s two outdoor screens. He is already working on next year’s special edition (the 10th!) as well as prospects to have the festival take shape in different cities throughout Lebanon on one hand, and around the world on the other hand!
Make sure to attend this unique event this week and show up before
8pm if you don't want to miss a thing!
