Nazha, 22 years old, is the main protagonist of Remi Itani’s short film by the same name. When Nazha’s terminally ill grandmother comes back to live with her and her mother, she finds herself unable to feel or fully process her grandmother’s inevitable death. As the days move on and her grandmother’s condition worsens, Nazha begins to feel more and more isolated and withdrawn, emotional stunted and numb.
Aided by Cinematographer Joshua Magor, Producer Erin Phipps, Editor Julien Testa, Script Editor Jonathan Shaw and all LFS students, NAZHA went on to be featured in the Cannes Short Film Corner earlier this year. Moving on from that early success, Itani’s short film was awarded the Prix du Jury at the International Film School Festival Tétouan, whose main objective is to promote the work of students from film schools, universities and institutes specialising in aspects of the film industry.
Born in Lebanon, Itani enrolled in the two year MA Filmmaking programme at The London Film School in 2014. Whilst undertaking the Bachelor’s in Communication Arts at the Lebanese American University in Beirut, Itani started directing documentaries for the Al Jazeera documentary channel including FOREIGNERS AT HOME (2012) and INVISIBLE CITIZENS (2013). Itani directed a short film entitled PULL THE PLUG (2014), premiered at the Exground Film Festival in Wiesbaden, Germany and is now working on a feature length documentary entitled IBRAHIM. The film is funded by the Organisation of La Francophonie and Screen Institute Beirut, which has been selected by the Dubai Film Connection and the Munich Documentary Campus.
Writer: Ben Corbett
Photo Credit: Joshua Magor