Marie-Louise Elia
Directing
Biography
Marie-Louise ‘Malou’ Elia is a Lebanese screenwriter, director, and editor. She studied Film Directing and Screenwriting in Beirut and New York. A Film Independent alumna and a 2022 Global Media Makers fellow, Marie-Louise wrote and directed several short films and documentaries. She also edited many documentaries and short fiction films - some are currently having their festival run. In 2014, she was selected among the editing talents of the Beirut Talents. In addition to writing the series “Men Home La Hon”, Marie-Louise is currently developing three films: The Savior, a feature comedy, "Yearning" a short dramatic film and another feature screenplay We Find You Anywhere, winner of the Most Promising Screenplay prize, second place, at the Cinemai’yat Film Festival (2016). She is also a lecturer at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA), and formerly at Saint Joseph University and the Lebanese University.
Known For
Jean-Claude walks his dog in a neighborhood forever stuck in reconstruction. On his trip, he wonders about life, mortality, and 'what if' scenarios while remembering fragments from the direct impact of the second that almost cost him his life on August 4. At the moment of the explosion, the end of the world, bodies, buildings, roads, and cities may shatter. Perhaps the universe itself breaks apart. But the most severe fragmenting remains that of memory. A picture here and a sound there are vaguely reconstituted. Can a future be built from such a memory? Can it rebuild what was lost? Is it time to leave?
Recovery
A short film that navigates the filmmaker's intimate journey with death and other fears. Through the filmmaker’s inner monologue, the film explores the universal struggle with mortality.
Death & Other Fears
Set during the Lebanese revolution, WE NEVER LEFT portrays a heart-wrenching duality between Beirut and New York, an impassioned testament to the Lebanese diaspora’s unrequited but irrepressible love for their homeland.
We Never Left
A night shoot. The Crew is exhausted. The Producer is enraged. The Director is lost. The Star is killed. The Gun is real. Everyone is a suspect.
Take 18
Karim, a young Lebanese man, goes looking for his bride - who abandoned him on their wedding day - in the neighbourhoods of Beirut. Through his inner monologue, we discover his mixed feelings towards Beirut.