In 2011, a Lebanese/Belgian filmmaker, Hadi Ghandour, graduated from LFS, with his short film LOVE AFTER SUNRISE, in which a hopeless romantic recounts how getting into the perfect relationship causes him to destroy the very thing he’s been longing for since he first discovered the opposite sex. Five years down the road, Ghandour is set to release his very first feature film, THE TRAVELLER (Le Voyageur), to the world and found the process similar yet different. "It needs much more stamina, planning, and focus, but the mechanics are essentially the same. I learned a lot from the mistakes I made in LOVE AFTER SUNRISE but also used a lot of the techniques I developed making it… I would say the experience definitely gave me the confidence to attempt [THE TRAVELLER]."
The comedy drama, produced by Androma Pictures, will make you laugh, cry and look at life differently all at the same time. Inspired by meeting a former Lebanese colleague and a trip to Paris where he got an idea about a travel agent who never travelled, the film follows Adnan as he realises his dream of seeing the world when he’s sent to Paris on a business trip. However, once there, he is seduced by the vibrant City of Lights and even becomes infatuated with his rather attractive second cousin, Layla. Adnan falls deeper into living his fantasy until he begins to forget his values, identity and even his own family, to such an extent that he eventually risks losing everything.
One of Ghandour’s aims with the film was to show that there was more to the Middle East than decades of conflicts, rather choosing to follow a man who embodies the diverse social issues of the region, namely sexual repression, broken dreams, aspiration and family. While being culturally relevant, it also successfully manages to juggle the universal theme of “be careful what you wish for”. However, it is not just Adnan that is under the microscope.
“To many Lebanese who have never had the chance to travel, Paris is a familiar but mythical place that symbolizes freedom, safety and ‘civilised’ behaviour," Ghandour comments in his director’s statement. "But to the 200,000 Lebanese who live in the city, the myth gives way to reality. It’s simply their home, and Lebanon is their myth. They come from different layers of society - some are intellectual, some are rich and others are working class, and each group lives their own version of the city. Adnan will be confronted by these very different pockets of town, from the luxury apartments of the 16th Arrondissement to the seedy areas of Pigalle. It is the clash between Paris as myth and Paris as reality that fuels much of the drama and comedy in the story.”
THE TRAVELLER’s journey of love, family and identity will start on the 19th November 2016 at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, where it will have it’s world premiere in the First Features Competition. From there, it will go on to the 13th Dubai International Film Festival as part of the Arabian Nights programme, an exhibition of compelling films touching on an aspect of modern Arab life with a rich and varied menu of subjects and formats from a line-up of Arab and non-Arab filmmakers.
To watch the official trailer, click here. For more information, follow THE TRAVELLER on Facebook and Twitter.
Written by Ben Corbett
Photo Credit: Saro Varjabedian