Nasri Sayegh

Le deuil de la cigogne joyeuse

In France, terrorist groups and intelligence agencies battle in a merciless war everyday, in the name of radically opposed ideologies. Yet, terrorist and secret agents lead almost the same lives. Condemned to secrecy, these masters of manipulation follow the same methods. Alex and Al Barad are two of them. The former is the head of the D.G.S.E.'s (Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure, the French equivalent of the CIA or the MI6) counter-terrorism unit while the latter reigns over a terrorist network, and both fight using the most ruthless of weapons: human beings.

Four tragicomic interconnected stories about how devoted Muslim men and women are trying to manage their love life and desires without breaking any religious rules.

A bride-to-be is forced to reevaluate her life when she reunites with her family in Jordan and finds herself confronted with the aftermath of her parents’ divorce.

A few weeks before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, an underground blogger risks his life by travelling from Baghdad to London to campaign for the lifting of UN Sanctions on Iraq. As political intrigue thwarts his heartfelt attempts to highlight the suffering of his people under the sanctions, he takes refuge at Mesocafé, a little Baghdad in West London. With their Arab, Assyrian, Jewish and Kurdish heritage, members of the Iraqi community allow him into their lives, sharing with him their stories and dreams. It is here that he meets the beautiful Bisan.

At bottom is a tale of exploring the imagination of a writer, plus a tale of exploring the city of Beirut. The film deals with the initiation to love and the female soul.

Nada is going home. Or at least she wants to. When she comes back to Lebanon, she realizes she's a foreigner in her own country. But there's still a place she calls home: an abandoned house in ruins, haunted by the presence of her grandfather who disappeared mysteriously during the civil war. Something happened in this house. Something violent. A young woman searching for the truth and discovering herself.