EXCLUSIVE: Dubai-based management and production company 75East has signed Lebanese filmmaker Cyril Aris as his debut feature A Sad and Beautiful World makes waves on the festival circuit. The film won the Audience Award at Venice Film Festival parallel section Giornate degli Autori in September and has since played at a raft of festivals including London, Athens and Montpellier, and will soon be setting off for MENA autumn circuit. It is also Lebanon’s submission for the Best International Feature Film in the 98th Academy Awards. The sweeping romance set across three decades of passion, loss, and hope in Beirut, stars Hassan Akil and Mounia Akl as Nino and Yasmina, two star-crossed lovers bound by a magnetic relationship, one an eternal optimist and the other an impulsive pragmatist. Torn between love and survival, they must decide whether to build a family and seek happiness in Lebanon amid the country’s unfolding tragedies. Co-written by Aris and Bane Fakih, the film is lead produced by Georges Schoucair at Beirut-based Abbout Productions, Jennifer Goyne Blake and April Shih at West Hollywood-based Diversity Hire as well as Georg Neubert and Jasper Wiedhöft at Leipzig-based Reynard Films. Aris’ previous credits also include the feature documentary Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano (2023), following the shoot of long-time collaborator Akl’s debut feature Costa Brava, Lebanon in the aftermath of the 2020 Beirut blast, which devastated the city. Supported by the Sundance Institute, it premiered in competition at Karlovy Vary, receiving a jury special mention before touring more than 80 festivals worldwide, including BFI London, CPH:DOX, and DOC NYC, winning awards in Rotterdam, Valencia, Rome, San Francisco, Marseille, and beyond. His debut documentary, The Swing (2018), also premiered at Karlovy Vary and won multiple awards internationally. A Columbia University MFA graduate, Aris also works as an editor, with credits including Costa Brava, Lebanon (Venice Orizzonti, 2021). He is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Launched in 2023, 75East is a management and production company that represents the most exciting filmmaking talent from around the globe, with a focus on those from the SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) region and diaspora. Filmmakers also represented by 75East include BAFTA-winner and Oscar-nominee Bassel Ghandour, Palme d’Or-nominee Abu Bakr Shawky, Gotham Best Breakthrough Director nominee Mahdi Fleifel. Aris is also represented by Independent Talent Group.
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