Enough! Lebanon’s Darkest Hour, an explosive and controversial documentary examining the causes of Lebanon’s current political and economic crisis, is to be released across the Middle East, having been picked up by regional distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment from Australian production company Dream Creations International.
Coming from Lebanese-born Australian director Daizy Gedeon, the film tackles many of Lebanon’s challenging issues including deep state corruption, mismanagement of government institutions and infrastructure, embezzlement of funds, as well as the political actors and parties behind the country’s collapse over the post-war decades, culminating in the tragic port explosion in August 2020 that left over 200 civilians and civil servants dead and countless others injured and destitute. It recently won the Better World Fund and Filmfestivals.com Movie That Matters Award 2021 in Cannes.
Provided it passes censorship in Lebanon, the feature is set for a Lebanese theatrical premiere date this October followed by the rest of the Middle-East and a string of international territories throughout the fall and a streaming release in February 2022. Dream Creations and Front Row will be submitting the documentary to the Lebanese censorship board in the coming week.
Enough! Lebanon’s Darkest Hour also seeks to highlight the importance of Lebanon’s upcoming parliamentary elections in May 2022 and could potentially be make-or-break for the future of the country. Key in this will be the expat vote – with an estimated 16 million people, Lebanon has one of the largest diasporas in the world, with the majority divided between Latin America, the U.S./Canada and Australia.
“The diaspora are the sleeping giant,” said Gedeon. “If we play our cards right we could be a powerful force for change and influence a decisive shift in the balance of power away from the political elite who have abused the people, the country and the diaspora for more than 40 years.”
Added Front Row CEO Gianluca Chakra: “For us, Enough! is not only a fascinating expose on the deeply entrenched corruption that has crippled Lebanon, but also a key message to encourage viewers who can vote to go out there and do their part.”
The deal was negotiated by non-theatrical sales director Carine Chaiban and Chakra for Front Row and Gedeon and producer Ronny Mouawad for Dreams Creations International.
Source: HollyWood
