Claude El Khal: What if we changed the face of Lebanese cinema?
Director, screenwriter, novelist Claude El Khal has already released three short films, the scenario of a first feature in search of a producer, a novel and a head full of ideas.
Claude El Khal visited this year at Cannes, provided the script for his first feature film, Circle, at the invitation of the Lebanese Cinema Foundation in hopes of generate interest for the scenario. Indications about the film? " In a feature film, I like to mix genres" , Claude meets El Khal. "There is a side comedy, still a bit dark, a supernatural thriller sprinkled. The film is set Beirut. Say that Beirut is one of the main characters. Beirut as a woman ... I'll leave it for now , "he says in a mysterious smile. After different versions, different titles, the scenario is completed, after three years of work. and discussions are ongoing to find a producer, to find funding. arduous task, but one thing is certain: Claude El Khal will not compromise, even if it is " difficult to convince a producer who would seek to impose its own vision of the film .
Ecce Hummus
A foreign producer stuck in the idea of a confessional Lebanon, the war ... and a Lebanese filmmaker who seeks out the local cinema these photos ... The image is familiar. This is the subject of the third short film by Claude El Khal: Ecce Hummus, made to mark the event "short Beirut," and produced by Zoe productions. For those who have not yet cast a glance at this little gem, well, just move your cursor over the site http://claudeelkhal.com . And laughter is guaranteed. It seems, moreover, the unanimous response. But the laugh is, nevertheless, stuck in the throat because Ecce Hummus depicts reality, a situation experienced by Claude El Khal and various Lebanese filmmakers who have had to deal with foreign producers. Moreover, the film's title is perfect. "Ecce Homo is an expression of Pontius Pilate, which means Behold the man. But we always represent the symbols for foreigners, perhaps a touch of hummus. For a Lebanese film is easily adopted by a foreign producer, he it is about war, hummus, traditions, clichés ... It is not easy to make a horror film, a romantic comedy, a thriller ... "indignant Claude. But the pill is passed through laughter.
The Ecce Hummus success continues. First on the Festival: it was presented to the Short Film Corner Market at Cannes Film Festival 2010, after being screened at the Festival of Short Films in London speaking at the Festival Lebanese film in Montreal, Arab Film Festival in Australia, and the Festival was born in Beirut 2009.
Next on the Web: powered by the blog of journalist of Iranian origin Delphine Minoui, he toured several blogs, landed on YouTube and has had a long career on Facebook ... " is a short film People, which was done by a stroke of chance, unlike my other two short films that were thoughtful, well prepared . In 1998, Claude realizes El Khal Afternoon Bloody Mary, a black comedy that interweaves the concept of reality and outrageous media coverage even before the subject is topical. A few years later, in 2003, when when Lebanon was still under Syrian occupation, Beau Rivage, which is named after the headquarters of Syrian intelligence services, was screened at the Festival was born in Beirut.
ideas still in turmoil, Claude El Khal, an eternal dreamer, idealist, continues to write screenplays for short and feature films, continues to write short, meanwhile, may soon , a sequel to Flemme, published in 2005, published Tamyras.
Nayla Rached
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