LFF 2009: Director Close-Up

TALAL KHOURY

LFF 2009 selection: "Mercredi" and "9 Aout"

..né.à Beyrouth (nàB): Congratulations on being selected for screening at this year's Lebanese Film Festival. Why did you submit your film to this particular festival?

Talal Khoury (TK): It's the third time I am participating in this Festival, because I find the organizers to be very professional, humble and serious.

I've had the opportunity to be a regular participant in a festival that continues to evolve and develop each year.

nàB: We are showing two of your films this year. "Mercredi" is more of a comedy, while "9 Aout" deals with a serious topic. How did you come to work on films of such different nature? Do you prefer working with comic or dramatic stories?

TK: Each one of us has various sides, and is made complete by a combination of a comic side and a dramatic side. I have worked to develop both of these sides in myself, and it is both an enormous pleasure and a real challenge to be able to do this in my films.

Personally, I prefer comedy. The general mood of work in a comic film is agreeable and "lighter," even if the work itself is as difficult as it is in drama.

nàB: "9 Aout" is a beautiful film, made on what I have been told was a tight budget. How were you able to engage so many actors and create such a polished work on your limited resources?

TK: The technical team and actors who worked on this film and on my other short films have been talented and dedicated people. I consider them to be true friends and colleagues. They have worked as if these projects were their own, without financial compensation. That is what has allowed me to overcome the fact that I had a limited budget, and to achieve a collective work, done with devotion and love.

nàB: Do you have any future projects in the works?

TK: I am finalizing the writing of a very small budget feature length film, in the hopes of directing it soon. This time, the film is more about the exploration of the individual's subconscious and the intertwining of different destinies - always with an eye on both the best and the worst in each individual.