Al Hmar - الحمار
Role: Director
SYNOPSIS
In Ancient Phoenicia, an old man is conned into believing that he had sinned by treating a man as his work-donkey for many years, and seeks forgiveness from the Gods to relieve himself of his wrongdoing.
Loosely based on the 10th-century folktale: The Simpleton and the Sharper, from A Thousand and One Arabian Nights.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
Al Hmar is a film that plays with themes of deception, superstition, and naivety, and it explores these themes by showing the perspective just beyond Abdeshmun's peripheral vision, where only we as the audience can see the truth behind the con.
Al Hmar was my first attempt as a Director at running a real-scale short film production in Lebanon. We had a big team of committed friends and filmmakers who all put incredible effort into tackling every challenge that came our way. We made this short in hopes of making a fun film that can relate a resonating message about the importance of attention and observation, back in Phoenician times and even in the chaos of the world today.
CAST
Mohamad Akil as Abdeshmun
Said Serhan as The Con-man
Nicole Maatouk as Ibriza
Fadi Ibrahim as The High Priest
CREW
Director: Tariq Keblaoui
Producer: Lujain Jo
Writer: Ayman Makarem
Cinematographer: Aiman Yahya Jabayee
Production Design: Ghina Sibaii
Editor: Tariq Keblaoui
Sound Design: Fonic Studios (London)
Music: Redi Mesho