Dead Dog

Das sagt der/die Veranstalter:in:

In this first narrative feature by filmmaker Sarah Francis, a middle-aged couple Aida (Chirine Karame) and Walid (Nida Wakim) reunite in the family’s mountain home after years of separation. A frigid atmosphere between them is only amplified by an eerily empty house still haunted by spectres of a joyous life from a recent past. Seemingly soft on the surface, this slow-burn relationship drama unfolds with an increasing sense of dread which bubbles underneath every charged movement and pregnant exchange between the two estranged lovers.

As she moves from a more documentary practice—Birds of September (2013), As Above, So Below (2020)—Francis foregrounds a disappearing Lebanese middle class through the lens of a generation unable to keep up appearances of wealth and affluence, and that must contend with a sense of defeat and abandonment. With masterful cinematography by Mark Khalifeh, Dead Dog is gripping in its portrayal of characters who insist on reviving memories – an effort akin to reanimating a dead corpse. (JH)

In cooperation with the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung