The film tackles the issue of illegitimate and abandoned children's right to a normal life, an issue that is widely stigmatised within the Arab region.
Lebanese film I’m not Lakit, by Maria Ivanova Z, will screen in the Documentary Feature Films Category at the Hollywood Arab Film Festival on April 27 at 11:30 am.
The screening will be held at Universal AMC Cinema at Citywalk Hollywood Theater 13.
The Hollywood Arab Film Festival, which takes place in Los Angeles, aims of providing Arab and North African filmmakers with the opportunity to gather, create and showcase their work. The festival will run from April 26 to 29.
I’m not Lakit follows the story of Saleh, a man who lives in an old house in the mountains near the Lebanese city of Byblos. Saleh does not belong to a family or a religious sect, in a society where such criteria define a human being. Worse, he lacks nationality and a passport, he even lacks the right to live his life as an ordinary citizen since he is labelled as a ‘lakit’ of unknown ancestry.
Written and directed by Maria Ivanova Z, the film landed its world premiere at Beirut International Women Film Festival.
Produced by Né à beyrouth Films and Avanpost Media, and shot by Marius Panduru, the film stars Father Majdi Allawi, Jean-Paul Salameh, Ali Hussein Fakih and Mohamad Ali. MAD Solutions handles the film’s distribution in the Arab world.
Marie Surae is a director, screenwriter and producer with over 16 years of experience in the film industry, including years of commitment to the Lebanese cultural scene. She started as a documentary filmmaker and switched to feature films. As a producer, she filmed more than 100 documentaries for TV channels.