Feature Narrative Film
TOTAL BUDGET
US $1,119,351
CONFIRMED FINANCING
US $939,351
CONTACTS
oualid@mac.com
+961 1587824
contact@abboutproductions.com
+961 3676707
When eleven-year-old Wissam decides to tell his classmate Joanna that he loves her, he is challenged by an invasion that threatens to permanently keep them apart.
June 1982, eleven-year-old Wissam is determined to tell his classmate Joanna that he loves her. It is the end of the academic year at a school tucked safely in the mountains overlooking Beirut; final exams are underway. As Wissam yearns to express himself, the day is interrupted when an air invasion reaches Beirut.
Even though the danger is still far, the school has to shut down and the students are sent home. Wissam gets more determined to declare his love as it becomes clear that no one knows what tomorrow will bring.
This story of first love against the backdrop of war portrays a day kids and adults will never forget.
I wrote this film with disdain for war. I chose to express it through the eyes of an 11-yearold whose imagination is captivated by his anime hero Dogfleed, and the robot into which he transforms, Grendizer.
The story is drawn from my memory of a first love and a momentous day. I was 11 when Israel blitzed Beirut in 1982. Fifteen years later I wrote a short story I was unable to finish. It was then that I realized what had happened that day: I encountered love and separation from it, and it was my first experience of the disruptive force of war.
This Lebanese story is long overdue. With 1982, I tell the story of each one of us. It is about the first love we have all felt. It is about humanity. It is about the fact that nothing matters except the girl we desire, even at age 11. The story ends with a triumphant spirit whereby the young boy and girl imagine the world being saved on their own terms.
This story is louder than it first appears to be, it is one of quiet defiance.
The activity around Lebanese cinema has grown considerably in recent years, and the world is steadily more interested in films originating from the Middle East. As a producer, my love for film often leads me to investigate this new wave of Lebanese filmmakers, on the lookout for stories that tackle themes which are both crucial and representative of our region.
1982 is a year that shaped our recent history. And from the unforgettable trauma we carry from that year, I was drawn to produce 1982 by Oualid Mouanes. This film tells history from the Lebanese perspective, rarely shown in cinema. It also tells history from a human standpoint. 1982 is about experiences we never forgot. No one can forget his first love, nor his first war.
Oualid Mouanes’ talent was confirmed to the whole world when his latest short The Rifle, the Jackal, the Wolf and the Boy got shortlisted for the Academy Awards in 2017. He carries on in this feature the same strong complex characters, the attention to details, and intertwining between the intimate and the universal, the war inside and the war outside. Abbout Productions has partnered up with Tricycle Logic and Mad Dog Films to produce this film. We’ve raised private equity from all over the world and secured funds from Doha Film Institute, OIF and Sorfond. We’re currently looking to close our financing gap and to secure distributors, festivals and a sales agent.
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