|
As part of the BEIRUT UNCUT FILM SERIES
and in collaboration with MIT's Lecture Series Committee (LSC), the LCM is proud to host
Lebanese director, Omar Naïm, in a special director's screening and
discussion of his internationally acclaimed documentary Grand Theater: A
Tale of Beirut at MIT on Wednesday, February 21. Naïm's first feature-length film,
The Final Cut starring Robin Williams, Mira Sorvino, and Jim
Caviezel, will be screened on Thursday.
About the
Director
Born in Lebanon to a journalist father and an actress mother, Omar Naïm
is a promising Arab-American director and writer in Hollywood who openly
discusses his heritage. Although Naïm acknowledges and embraces his culture, he
refuses to be defined solely by it. Instead, it is his unique talent and often
quirky perspective that has earned him the respect of Hollywood powerhouses. In
2004, he wrote and directed his first feature film, The Final Cut, which starred
Robin Williams, Mira Sorvino, and Jim Caviezel. The film won the best screenplay
award at the Deauville Film Festival and was an official selection of the Berlin
Film Festival. His thesis documentary, Grand Theater: A Tale of Beirut,
was a finalist for the Student Oscar given by the AMPAS in 2000. Naïm was raised
in Jordan, Cyprus, and Lebanon and attended Emerson College in Boston. Omar Naïm
currently lives and works in Los Angeles.
More on Omar Naïm:
Director's Screening & Discussion with Naïm
Grand Theater: A Tale of Beirut (order
dvd!)
wednesday . feb 21 . 8pm .
free . bldg 54-100 .
map
A documentary viewing the Lebanese Civil War, as well as its roots and
aftermath, through the eyes of an old theater. The stories of actors, directors,
soldiers, and civilians intersect and intertwine at the Grand Theater, giving us
a vivid portrait of a city under siege. As the atrocity and absurdity of war
escalates, the lines between war and theater, and between performance and
reality, are blurred.
***
To accommodate attendee requests for personal DVD copies of Grand Theater, the
LCM has secured the documentary's distribution rights (courtesy of
director Omar Naïm) and is making it available to the general public (order
now!). Proceeds from DVD sales will support the
'Boston to Lebanon' campaign
***
The
Final Cut (watch trailer)
thursday . feb 22 . 8pm .
free . bldg 54-100 .
map
http://www.finalcutfilm.com
A Zoey Chip is placed in your brain at birth to record your entire life.
When you die, the footage from your life is edited into a "Rememory"-- a film
shown at your funeral pieced together by an editor. A toy for the privileged,
Zoey Chips are changing the face of human interaction, but there are those who
are against this emerging technology, and believe that memories are meant to
fade. Alan Hackman (Robin Williams) is the best "cutter" in the business. His
ability to grant the corrupt absolution of the sins of his clients has put him
in high demand. However, his talent for viewing life without emotion has shaped
him into a cold distant man and has made him unable to experience life in the
first person. He believes he is a "sin eater" and his work provides him with the
ability to absolve the dead of their sins. While cutting a Rememory for a
high-powered colleague, Alan discovers an image from his childhood that has
haunted him his entire life. This discovery leads him on a high intensity search
for truth and redemption.
all proceeds from donations will support
relief and reconstruction efforts in Lebanon as part of the
'Boston to Lebanon' campaign |
