10 December 2012
BEIRUT: Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya and Pascale Abou Jamra were awarded the Lebanese Student Short Film Prize at the Metropolis Cinema Sofil Dec. 9.
Part of the 19th edition of the European Film Festival, the Student Short Film section gathered 19 films from ten universities: the Lebanese Fine Arts Academy (ALBA), the American University of Technology, the Notre-Dame University of Louaize, the University Saint Joseph, Al-Kafaat University, the American University of Science and Technology, the Lebanese American University, the University of Fathers Antonins (UPA), the Lebanese University and the University of St. Esprit of Kaslik.
In the presence of E.U. Ambassador to Lebanon Angelina Eichhorst and Bouchra Chahine, information officer for cultural affairs for the European Union’s Delegation to Lebanon, the evening also highlighted the end of the film festival in Beirut.
Bou Chaaya and Abou Jamra – both students of ALBA – were awarded for their mutual films “Un Grand Film,” French for A Big Movie, and “Derriere-Moi les Oliviers,” French for Behind Me Olive Trees.
The jury in charge of selecting the winners was composed of the head of the cinematographic mission of the French Institute of Lebanon Lisa Giacchero, Eduardo Navarro Carrion of the Cervantes Institute in Beirut, along with representatives of the Metropolis Cinema and reporters.
They chose Bou Chaaya’s short film for its “humor, plot and for the eponymous character’s acting skills,” according to Eichhorst.
As for Abou Jamra’s feature, the jury appreciated the “aesthetical beauty and quality of the screenplay.”
Both students not only won this section of the European Film Festival, each of them was also invited to foreign festivals – Bou Chaya to the 2016 Short Film Festival in Germany and Abou Jamra to the 2013 Festival Premier Plan in Angers, France.
This year’s European Film Festival emphasized variety and diversity. Anthony Daccache’s “Casting,” Karin Kasem’s “Red Pearl,” Gabriel Aramouni’s “The Sewing Machine” and Maria Tannoury’s “Imperfect Portrait” – to name a few – were also included in the list of this year’s participants.
Eichhorst lauded the filmmakers for demonstrating “audacity, creativity and sensibility.”
For the cinema-lovers, the 19th edition of the European Film Festival continues in Zahle until Dec. 11. For more information, please visit: www.metropoliscinema.net.
Copyright The Daily Star 2012.
