Shelter
Spring Grant 2012 - Development Stage
Kasem Kharsa / Feature Narrative / Lebanon, Qatar, Iraq, Egypt / 100 min / Colour / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Drama
Synopsis
Ahmad struggles to survive in the ghettos of Beirut. He cannot remember his past or where he came from, and is tormented by a recurring nightmare in which he sees himself strangling a group of beautiful horses. One day, during a routine raid, he is arrested. His processing reveals that he is wanted for his part in a genocide 30 years earlier. Ahmad is convinced he could never have committed these terrible war crimes. With his lawyer, he must rebuild his memories in order to prove his innocence. As he is reunited with moments from his past and his idyllic childhood, he is reminded of things lost and the vile acts he had to commit while he was a soldier. He gradually becomes convinced that he is guilty of something awful, and that the mysterious horses in his nightmares may have been the key to his true sins all along.
Credits
- Director
- Kasem Kharsa
- Screenwriter
- Kasem Kharsa
About the Director
Kasem Kharsa is an Egyptian-American filmmaker and visual artist based between the Middle East and the USA. His films are inspired by his own fragmented past and are centred around memory, identity and survivorship. His work has been supported by both regional and international funding bodies, and he is a fellow of the Rawi Lab, the Sundance Directors/Writers Lab, and Binger Filmlab.