Directed by Beirut-born Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, Memory Box (دفاتر مايا) is continuing its winning streak at international film festivals.
This time, the highly acclaimed Lebanese film won two awards at the Mizna Arab Film Festival, USA, where it received the Jury Award for Best Feature Film and the Audience Award for Best Feature Film.
Memory Box is a Canadian, Lebanese, and French drama movie. After being the first Lebanese film to be nominated for the Golden Bear top prize, it was also nominated as Lebanon’s official entry to the 2023 Oscars for Best International Feature Film.
Starring Rim Turki, Manal Issa, Paloma Vauthier, Clemence Sabbagh, and Hassan Akil, and produced by Abbout Production, the film starts in Montreal, Canada, where Alex lives with her mother Maia and grandmother Teta.
On one Christmas Eve, box memorabilia arrives from France, all things that Maia sent from Beirut to her friend Liza in Paris during the Lebanese civil war.
After trying to hide painful memories and secrets, Alex dives in and learns in a series of flashbacks about her mother’s teenage self and her secrets.
Here is the trailer:
