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SFFILM Festival

Very Big Shot

Directed by Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya

Lebanon/Qatar | 107

29 Apr
Fri, Apr 29, 2016 at 12:30 pm PT

Description

Tired of low-rent drug deals and turf wars, Ziad (co-writer Alain Saadeh) is determined to leave the family pizza business—the front for his illegal activity—and move up Beirut’s underworld ladder. Inspiration strikes when Ziad visits a coke-addled movie director to collect a debt: He and his brothers can smuggle a cache of stolen drugs past customs in film-reel canisters. In order to make the scam work, the siblings have to put together the semblance of a real movie production down to the smallest details, from acquiring permits to “casting” their “film” about interfaith romance. But their cover story starts to evolve into a genuine passion project—and all of the skills Ziad honed as a criminal turn out to make him a top-notch producer. Adapting his award-winning short Filmmakers, first-time writer-director Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya balances a brutal crime thriller and a backstage farce with a brashness that mirrors his industry-player protagonist. A bold new voice in Lebanese cinema, he comes rushing out of the gate with this sensational, social conscience-tinged shot of adrenaline. —David Fear

Director Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya

Beirut-born and a graduate of the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-arts, Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya made a name for himself filming music videos, TV series and shorts—including 2013’s Filmmakers, the basis for Very Big Shot. He’s also the co-founder of SuppAr, an organization dedicated to fostering Arabic filmmakers and movies about the region.

Trailer

//player.vimeo.com/video/158107989?autoplay=1

Film Details

Language Lebanese, Arabic

Year 2015

Premiere US

Runtime 107

Country Lebanon/Qatar

Director Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya

Producer Lucien Bou Chaaya, Christian Bou Chaaya, Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya

Writer Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, Alain Saadeh

Editor Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, Simon El Habre

Cinematographer Fadi Kassem

Music Michel Elefterides

Cast Alain Saadeh, Fouad Yammine, Tarek Yaacoub