I Used to Sleep on the Rooftop
Spring Grants 2016 - Post-Production Stage
Angie Obeid / Feature Documentary / Lebanon, Qatar / 2017 / 60 min / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Creative Documentary
Synopsis
Nuhad, a 53-year-old Syrian woman, had never left Syria until the war made her reconsider her existence in a country where she didn’t belong. In 2015, she made the decision to leave Damascus. Her destination was Beirut and Angie, a 27-year-old Lebanese woman – Nuhad’s son’s friend, the only possible host. Angie’s house becomes Nuhad’s refuge, an antechamber leading to indefinite asylum destinations. Angie observes the older woman projecting her own life onto the confines of the small apartment, and finds intersections between her own life and Nuhad’s: both are vainly trying to move out of their own walls to find the right place in which to exist. Unsatisfied, Angie is waiting as well, living vicariously through Nuhad’s experience.
Credits
- Director
- Angie Obeid
- Screenwriter
- Angie Obeid
- Producer
- Jad Abi Khalil
- Production Company
- Beirut DC
About the Director
Born in Beirut in 1988, Angie Obeid obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Film Directing and Scriptwriting from Notre Dame University—Lebanon (2010) and a Master’s degree in Documentary Filmmaking, DOC NOMADS—Portugal, Hungary and Belgium (2018). She has been working, since 2009, as a producer, director, assistant director and editor on numerous documentaries for Al-Jazeera Documentary Channel, in addition to several independent documentaries. Her first feature documentary ‘I Used to Sleep on the Rooftop’ (2017) won the special mention award at FIDMarseille 2017 and has been screened at several festivals in Europe. Her short documentary ‘Pacific’ (2019) was selected for Visions du Réel and Hot Docs 2019. Angie is currently preparing for her second feature-length documentary ‘Yalla, Baba!’.
Awards and Festival History
Awards
Special Mention, FID Marseille 2017 (WP)