Goodbye Schlöndorff

That day, I had borrowed my mother’s car and found myself stuck in an endless traffic jam in the heart of Beirut. I randomly pulled an old audio tape out of the glove box and inserted it in the cassette-player, when suddenly I heard the voice of my grandmother, who passed away fifteen years earlier.
The history of the audio tape particularly coincides with the Lebanese civil war (1975- 1990). At that time, communication means were reduced. It thus took a new dimension as it became a correspondence medium, whereby families registering their day to day stories through audio taped letters, were able to communicate with their relatives in exile.

Note of intent

My fascination with the movie “Circle of Deceit“ by Volker Schlöndorff began long before seeing the film. What first struck me indeed, was the incredible story of the shooting. To make the movie in the torn Beirut of the 80s, the director succeeded in meeting the crazy challenge to suspend the war just for the time necessary to the shooting. For this purpose, German production got all belligerents to achieve a cease-fire. The existing factions: Palestinians, Syrians, Phalangists, and others, lent themselves to the game, given that the extras played their own roles. A district of Beirut downtown is secure. War is suspended for the time of filming.

Wael Koudaih : Script, Music Composition and Performance
Rima Brahim Ben : Lighting
Benjamin Dessaint : Sound
Sébastien Lepotvin : Production / Booking
Production : Cie Rayess Bek

Co-produced by:
AFAC, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture.
ARCADI, établissement public de coopération culturelle créé à l’initiative de la Région Île-de-France, en partenariat avec l’État.
A.M.I., Aide aux musiques innovatrices.
MuCEM, Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée.
Al Mawred Al Thaqafy.
La Ferme Bel Ebat.
YATF, Young Arab Theatre Fund.
La ville de Gyuancourt.

Partners : Théâtre de la Cité, Théâtre de l’Oeuvre, Marseille