Beirut (AFP)
The story takes place in 2053 in a fantasy land, when young dissidents plan to overthrow the tyrant Alef II.
The first film of its kind in the Arabic language, "Alephia 2053", echoes the Arab Spring, in a high-tech world.
With more than eight million views since its launch on March 21, the anticipatory feature film, in the form of a thriller, is a hit on YouTube in a context of pandemic, where social networks and online platforms have replaced cinema .
But its popularity lies above all in the theme: the overthrow of a ruthless dictatorship, here the "People's Democratic Republic of Alephia".
"Everyone sees it from their own perspective. People identify with it and find their own society there," the film's creator, Lebanese Rabi Sweidan, told AFP.
At the heart of the plot, the regime of Alaa Ibn Ismail Al-Alef, nicknamed Alef II, "the eternal leader of Alephia, the leader of the Alephites, faithful guardian of the reign of the Alef dynasty", irremovable for a long time. popular insurrection suppressed in blood 40 years earlier.
- "Fear, the key to power" -
"I have built glass prisons, so that everyone sees the cost of disobeying our family," the tyrant explains to his son.
"Fear is the key to power," assures the despot who has set up a state-of-the-art repressive apparatus.
From the regime's caciques to its high-ranking officers, through the heir to the throne or the impoverished and oppressed people from which the revolutionaries emerge, the film paints the portrait of well-known figures of the hundreds of millions of inhabitants of North Africa and from the Middle-East.
The author also depicts the depressing daily life of the population of Alephia: inhabitants strolling through town where giant screens spit out the regime's propaganda, food rations, arrests, torture, hangings.
Images that resonate with the inhabitants of the region, shaken over the past decade by pro-democracy uprisings but which have led, in some cases, to even more repression.
Directed by illustrator Jorj Abou Mhaya, "Alephia 2053" was produced by Lebanese company "Spring Entertainment" with support from animation studio Malil'Art in Angoulême, France.
But "more than 70% of the work took place in Lebanon and was carried out by Lebanese", underlines the creator.
The film is in literary Arabic, a language traditionally used to dub popular cartoons in order to reach as many people as possible in the Arab world, where most countries have their own dialects.
In short, the Republic of Alephia could be the "23rd country of the Arab League", summarizes Mr. Sweidan.
- Computer attack -
The work follows dissidents ready to die for their ideas who launch a computer attack against the ultra-secure surveillance systems of the regime, presented as "the most authoritarian" in history.
She is interested, among other things, in three female characters: a 17-year-old hacker, an official in charge of ideological indoctrination who actually works for the opposition and an intelligence official whose senior father wants her. force to marry the son of the dictator.
Thanks to the help of officials of the security services who embraced the cause of the opposition, the "resistance" manages to overthrow the dictator.
The operation was greeted by a popular rally and the film ended with a scene full of hope: raised fists, a jubilant crowd witnessed the unbolting of the statue of the deposed dictator.
For Lebanese film critic Elias Doummar, the film constitutes an "important stage (in the history) of Arab animation".
Its free broadcast on YouTube has certainly contributed to its success, he adds, "but the main reason is history: (...) it portrays Arab reality".
Through a subtle color grading, the film offers a progression from the dark tones of the beginning of the film to a warmer gradient heralding the victorious outcome of the last scenes.
“At the origin of the film, there is a question: what could the Arab world look like in 20 or 30 years,” says Mr. Sweidan.
"What this film wants is a future that is no worse than the past or the present," he adds.
© 2021 AFP