Cairo Fest: "Dead Dog" Captures Arab Film Award

Lebanese director Sarah Francis's intimate marital drama, "Dead Dog," earned the Saad Eldin Wahba Award for best Arabic film at the Cairo Film Festival. Actress Chirine Karameh, making a notable return to acting, was honored with the best actress award for her performance. The film, produced by Placeless Films, navigates the complexities of a relationship fractured by the pervasive reality of emigration.

The narrative centers on a couple, Aida and Walid, exploring their emotional distance over four days in a semi-abandoned mountain house. Francis, transitioning from hybrid and documentary work, found fiction allowed for intricate world-building, yet retained a documentary-like responsiveness to the actors' contributions and immediate circumstances.

Francis emphasized the film's focus on the emotional space created by emigration rather than the act itself, exploring themes of displacement and uncertainty. The support from institutions like the Doha Film Institute and Red Sea Film Fund was crucial for the film's realization, fostering a sense of regional cinematic community.