With the pandemic now over five years behind us there are still films being released that were shot under the restrictions that were in place at the time. One of those films is Shadows of Beirut that’s been co-written and stars Tala Calil as Lana, a woman now living in London with her boyfriend (Michael E Rodgers) and also her mother estranged from her father having left Beirut 25 years ago. But its news that her father is hospitalized and unlikely to make it out and she decides to return to see him despite her memories of his violent alcoholism.
Those Shadows of Beirut …
It’s quite the undertaking because in addition to her estrangement she’s also fully kitted up with PPE protection that includes a face mask, a helmet shield too as well as gloves. It’s something that we persuaded out Editor to do also during the pandemic although in fairness it was more that we got him to wear a bag over his head so we didn’t have to look at him (‘You’re fired!’ – Ed).
Back in Beirut she meets up with her cousin Rami (Assaad Bouab) and a new friend Sirine (Flavia Bechara ) whose driving skills around a ramshackle city are akin to Grand Theft Auto without the nuance. It’s Sirine who talks Lana through a panic attack at the hospital and gradually builds up her courage to see her father for the first time in years that is likely to also be the last.
Shadow or light?
Directed by Tina Ghavari the two leads are engaging and there’s several nicely judged scenes notably a domestic with Rami and his self absorbed wife at a family party. It is a little disjointed likely due to the extended and disrupted shoot of the film during the pandemic but there’s enough emotion at its core to draw in an audience.
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We chatted to director Tina Ghavari and actors Tala Calil and Assaad Bouab about the making of the film….
Here’s the Shadows of Beirut trailer…..
