incorporated Lebanese culture in their films and they did so with such creativity and curiosity.
Camille: The themes vary quite significantly as the diaspora communities tend to make film relating to their local context and their Lebanese origins. This is a strong sense of mystery about the motherland (Lebanon) in many diaspora-made films, I find. Many films include a theme or sense of Lebanon’s discovery by the diaspora community, searching for their origins or roots.
Jessica: War is always a recurrent theme, but as I mentioned before that is a defining element of Lebanese cinema and I think it speaks strongly for what the country has been through. I really admire the way most filmmakers allow the theme to resonate through different styles and genres. For example, Nadine Labaki’s Where Do We Go Now? has the ability to make the audience laugh and cry, and simultaneously resonate the consequences and experiences of culture, religion and war. It is brilliant.
How was the process of deciding which films to accept for the LFF? Were there many more entries than you could accept?
Jessica: The LFF have an official judging panel, I am a part of that panel. Each year we include one Jessica Khoury international judge and a couple of notable Australian critics. This year our international judge Did you find any distinctive style or themes in films coming from the communities in various regions? is Sonia Hadchity, director of our partner film festival in Beirut – the Outbox Short Film Festival. We also have notable film critics onboard from the Film Critics Circle of Australia. We do not have a limit to how many films we accept.