SHAPES OF NORMAL HUMAN BEINGS

A small team of friends/filmmakers embark on an eight-day journey across the sprawling web that is Lebanon today, moving from one scene to another in a sort of “exquisite corpse” fashion. Their mission: trying to depict their country in a specific moment in time.
What emerges is the silhouette of a country struggling with insecurity and violence yet celebrating love and particularly motherly love.

SALIM MRAD

Salim Mourad was born in Beirut in 1987. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in audiovisual studies (2009) and his master’s degree in filmmaking (2012) from IESAV (Beirut). In 2017, he completed a second master’s degree in film research around the theme of “The Screen of Sacrifice”. He also participated in the Documentary Exchange Workshop with the Danish Film School. His filmography includes short documentaries, medium-length fictions, a feature documentary and a film trilogy around the nude body.
‘This Little Father Obsession’ is his first feature documentary. It premiered in competition in Visions Du Réel international film festival (2016) and went on to have a beautiful festival life (FIDBA, JCC Tunis, Cairo Critics’ week, Beirut Cinema Days, Aflam Marseille, SOAS University of London, JihLava, Yamagata, etc)
Salim is currently teaching filmmaking and cinema in Beirut and working on his music and literature projects. “Stages of pilgrimage”, his new feature documentary is set to be completed in 2026.

 

• IFFR Rotterdam Film Festival, Netherlands
• Sierre Film Festival, Switzerland

Main Competition 2025