A Syrian migrant working as a crane operator in Beirut volunteers to cover a shift on one of the most dangerous cranes, where he is able to find his freedom.

Director Biography

Dania Bdeir is a Lebanese-Canadian award-winning writer & director with an intense love/hate relationship with Lebanon which she finds to be her biggest heartache and sincerest inspiration. Dania, currently a member of the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective, has a BA in Graphic Design from the American University of Beirut and an MFA in directing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where she received a full scholarship in her third year. Her pre-thesis film ""Meshkal"" (English title: Kaleidoscope), has traveled to film festivals in France, Morocco, Pakistan, Mexico, Czeck Republic, India and many more. It has won a few notable awards including Award of Excellence at the 2014 Canada International film festival and Golden Palm at the 2014 Mexico International Film Festival. Her thesis film, “In White”, which received the Spike Lee Production Fund, had its world premiere at the renowned Clermont Ferrand film festival and went on to screen at the BFI London Film Festival, Uppsala International short film festival and more than 30 film festivals worldwide. It has won a dozen awards including the International Grand Prize at the Rio de Janeiro International short film festival thus making it eligible for the 2019 Academy Awards in the short live-action category. In 2019, Dania was selected as a Berlinale Talent and participated in its Short Film Station with her short film “Warsha”. Dania is currently based in Dubai and is developing her first feature film “Pigeon Wars” which was selected for the 2018-2019 Torino Film Lab x DFI Hezaya Screenwriting lab. Pigeon Wars was also selected for the 2021 Cine Qua Non Storylines lab and the 2021 Nostos Screenwriting Retreat.