Oscar Hopeful Dania Bdeir Lands Producers for Debut Function ‘Pigeon Wars’

MARRAKECH  — Lebanese producer Pierre Sarraf from Né à Beyrouth Movies and Sahar Yousefi (“Play, Rewind, Play”) at Canada’s Nava Tasks have boarded one of the vital buzzed about titles on the Atlas Workshops trade and mentoring platform on the Marrakech Movie Pageant. The Atlas Workshops opens its doorways at this time.

“Pigeon Wars” marks the primary characteristic from the Canadian-Lebanese filmmaker and Oscar hopeful, Dania Bdeir, whose gender-defying brief movie “Warsha” has gained over 60 awards –  three of that are Oscar qualifying, at Sundance, Outfest and Tokyo’s Quick Shorts.  The movie is presently shortlisted for the 2023 César Awards.

Sarraf is producing the characteristic with Yousefi serving because the co-production accomplice. Ne a Beyrouth Movies was additionally a producer on  “Warsha,” which follows a Syrian migrant working as a crane operator at a development web site in Beirut who has a secret ardour.

In “Pigeon Wars,” Rana, 20, a aggressive younger girl attempting to keep away from a troublesome secret from her previous, turns into obsessive about conquering the male-dominated pigeon wars of Beirut. With the assistance of Hassan, a kindred spirit with an interior battle of his personal, she embarks on a mission to catch a uncommon chicken, the Nicobar.

Mentioned Bdeir: “‘Pigeon Wars¡ is about liberating ourselves of no matter inside shackles that stop us from shifting ahead and rising. Similar to the pigeons they practice, Hassan and Rana can unfold their wings and conquer the skies. It’s about daring to fly free but in addition having the selection to go house.”

“Pigeon Wars” has up to now obtained improvement financing from Telefilm Canada.  It was chosen for the Torino Movie Lab x DFI Hezaya Screenwriting Lab, Cine Qua Non Storylines, and Le Groupe Ouest. It’s now on the lookout for a French co-producer. 

Born in Beirut, Sarraf is likely one of the founders of Né à Beyrouth Movies, a movie improvement and manufacturing firm. 

He’s additionally engaged on creating what he calls the primary “international Arab sequence,”

Gilbert Karam’s “Standing Quo.” Its story revolves round a gaggle of teenage women who mistakenly kidnap the son of a corrupt political bigwig. It was written, stated Karam, as “a tribute to the victims of Beirut Blast and to all of the victims of injustice on this planet.”

The sequence gained the DFI Improvement Fund and the Paramount+ Storytellers Award for finest pitch at June’s Conecta Fiction in Spain.

Sarraf’s latest options as a co-producer embrace “Capernaum,” a Jury Prize winner at Cannes 2018 which snagged Oscar and Bafta nominations). Bdeir is managed by Nameless Content material.  The Atlas Workshops runs Nov. 14-17.