Kashkash
Fall Grants 2019 - Production Stage
Lea Najjar / Feature Documentary / Lebanon, Germany, Qatar / 90 min / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Creative Documentary
Synopsis
In a region torn apart by wars, migration, mandates, and cultural diversity, we discovered an unusual link—the Kash Hamam game of the Middle East. Twice a day, when the sun rises and sets the sky populates with swarms of doves following the choreography of a centuries-old gambling tradition. Cards are supplanted by doves, and ground, by sky. Each player holds their own swarm captive until releasing it in the hope of luring their neighbours’ doves onto their roof, catching the birds of competitors and thus increasing the size of their swarm. It is a game of longing, ego, addiction and hope, the birds acting as extensions of the many facets of each player’s being. Kash Hamam spans a unique network that transcends geopolitical borders of the region. The film is the journey of the doves, from roof to roof delving into the personal lives of players across the country.
Credits
- Director
- Lea Najjar
- Screenwriter
- Lea Najjar, Alia Haju
- Producer
- Matthias Drescher, Max Brunner, Estella Suplit
About the Director
Lea Najjar completed her freshman degree at the American University of Beirut in 2013. During her school years, she worked as a press photographer for the Lebanese newspaper “Al Akhbar”. Since 2014, she studies at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and will finish her Diploma in 2020. Her works include ‘Madama Butterfly’, an award-winning puppet film about an explosive Opera performance which was presented at more than 70 festivals internationally; ‘Sara the Dancer’ as a scriptwriter and ‘Let there be Light’ as a director, both films which address the effects of technology on the human perception. Her latest project ‘Happy Hours’ is a documentary portrait of her grandfather’s everyday pranks, through which he attempts to challenge Muslim stereotypes and create a little chaos in order, breaking through the tranquillity of his retirement.
Contacts
-
Main Contact
Max Brunner
- Company:
- FFL Film & Fernseh-Labor Ludwigsburg GmbH & Co. KG
- Phone:
- +4971414888423
- Email:
- brunner@ffl.de