The first film representing Lebanon in the "Berlin Film Festival" in 39 years

"Maya Notebooks" ... memories of a Lebanese generation exhausted by crises

From the movie "Maya Notebooks", which is based on a true story.

A.F.B.

The Lebanese film "Maya Notebooks" participated in the Berlin Film Festival, which was held this year in a completely virtual version. The film was titled "Memory Books" in English among 15 works that participated in the first prominent European cinematic event during the year.

Similar to the "Sundance" festival during the winter, the organizers of the German event chose to create a completely virtual version, in light of the efforts in the sector working to maintain the production wheel, to meet the requirements of the masses hungry for entertainment, especially during the period of home quarantine and the closure of cinemas.

The last participation of a Lebanese film in the official competition of the Berlin Festival goes back to 39 years, with "Beirut the Meeting," directed by Burhan Alawiya.

"Maya's Notebooks" is based on a true story about the discovery of a set of letters and cassette tapes, which Haji Touma sent to a friend during her teenage years in the 1980s, during the Lebanese war.

In the film, the parcel fraught with the scent of the past arrives in Montreal at the home of Maya, a Lebanese woman who immigrated to Canada and lives with her teenage daughter Alex.

The revival of these ancient memories prompts Maya to reveal her secrets and insights about her experiences during the war.

Beyond the shock

"Sometimes our children are the ones who push us to retrieve memories that we do not want to see, or we refuse to relive them," Haji Touma, 51, told the agency.

She added, "We do not share a unified history in Lebanon, and we no longer communicate between us as a society. That is why we are trying to work through arts and films to raise questions about this issue."

"Maya's Notebooks" includes retrospective scenes that return viewers to Beirut during the 1980s. However, the gloomy atmosphere of war does not obscure the young generation's thirst for love, and their eagerness to find an outlet for them in a city known for its hustle and bustle and love for life.

Haji Touma pointed out that "the most important thing was not only to show civil war and trauma, but rather we wanted to show a generation that wanted to live, love and dream."

"I was in a nearby cafe, and the shock was very strong, so we needed time to start recovering," she said.

But we do not want to recover this time.

We do not want this steadfastness, all of us, but rather we want accountability. ”

Memories

The two directors indicated that the explosion brought back memories of the Lebanese war, while the Covid-19 pandemic complicated the completion of filming and post-production.

Gregg (52 years old) pointed out that there are great similarities between filmmaking and the real world.

"This movie deals with the story of isolation, and it revolves around two women who are stuck in the storm, but today we can compare it to isolation caused by the pandemic," he said.

"After that, our whole world collapsed with the explosion, and the film continued to echo our present," he added.

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