MAD World Boards Rotterdam Presents “Home Bitter Home”: A Look at the Challenges Faced by Lebanese Artists
Mad Solutions Takes on Lebanese Short Film Anthology Bound for Rotterdam
Cairo-based film sales company Mad Solutions has announced its involvement in the sales of "Home Bitter Home," an anthology of Lebanese short films set to feature at the upcoming Rotterdam International Film Festival.
Directed by Georges Hachem, this collaborative project offers intimate portraits of five relatively unknown artists in their late thirties. The film explores their personal crises, which are deeply intertwined with the ongoing turmoil in Beirut, their hometown, as they navigate the challenges of daily life.
"Home Bitter Home is a close-up on an all-too-common Lebanese struggle—an overwhelming love for Lebanon and its endearing capital, coupled with an unrelenting desire to escape its chaos and start anew in a more stable environment. Beirut is the home we fled, but can’t stop missing," Hachem stated, reflecting on the motivations behind the film.
Maher Diab, co-founder of Mad Solutions, expressed a personal connection to the film. "I’m sure it’ll resonate with many of my countryfolk who find themselves hopelessly in love with a country prone to shocks and stoppages. We are a resilient people, but like everyone else, we have dreams, and chase them we must, wherever that leads us," he remarked.
Co-founder Alaa Karkouti noted that the film’s themes extend beyond the Lebanese community. "The tales it follows remain universal, relatable to many across the Middle East and the world at large. After all, it is an all-too-relatable human experience to miss our homes while pursuing the lives we’ve envisioned for ourselves. We’re excited to bring it to the world this January as part of the Rotterdam International Film Festival’s Harbor Program,” he added.
The anthology features contributions from writers and directors Ghina Abboud, Naim El Hajj, Salim Mrad, Aline Ouais, Jihad Saadé, and Marie-Rose Osta, presenting stories centered on Sara Fakhri, Hadi Deaibes, Adham Al Dimashki, Dana Dia, and Dhana Mkhayel. Filming was completed by Jean Hatem, Elsy Hajjar, Jihad Saadé, and Jocelyne Abi Gebrayel, with editing managed by Abboud, Hachem, El Hajj, Sandra Fatte, Saadé, and Osta. Sound design was handled by Raed Younan, Hadi Deaibes, François Yazbeck, John Paul Jalwan, and Victor Bresse.
Georges Hachem is a prominent Lebanese director and producer who graduated from the Louis Lumière National School in Paris, after studying theater at the Lebanese University. Since 1992, he has directed various short films through workshops in Paris and Beirut. In 2006, he returned to Lebanon to establish and lead the Department of Audiovisual Studies at Antonin University until 2014.
Hachem’s narrative work includes "Evening Mass" (2009) and the feature film "Stray Bullet" (2010), which starred Nadine Labaki and won the Best Arab Film Award at the Dubai International Film Festival. His second feature, "Still Burning" (2016), was filmed in both Paris and Beirut. Most recently, his documentary "Were It Not For Metro" (2022), focusing on performers of a long-running Lebanese cabaret show, received the Best Arab Documentary Award at the Malmö Arab Film Festival.
