Today, in New York City and in Taiwan, the feature film “1982” about the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, directed by Walid Mons, is being shown in conjunction with the fortieth anniversary of the invasion. Then it is shown in Los Angeles on June 24, and then in a number of American cities.
The movie “1982” was recently shown in Brazilian theaters on June 2, in the presence of director Mons, Lebanese-Brazilian producer Jorge Takla, and Brazilian distributor Studio Escralatti. The first show was attended on May 30 by Lebanon’s ambassador to Brazil, Carla Jazzar, in addition to the fact that it was shown in a number of Mexican cities starting from May 26.
This film toured many French cities, including: Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Nice.
Director Mons said: “Although the Corona pandemic during the past years affected the course of the film, “1982” found its way to cinemas in North and South America, and it was even shown in other countries because people believed in the film and its content, and so far it has met The film was well received by audiences and critics alike.
He continued, “Despite my joy at the global success, the only thing that breaks my heart is that the film was not shown as it should in Lebanese theaters because of Corona. And since it is available on Netflix in the Middle East, Lebanese theaters refuse to play it again.”
He explained that the feature film “1982” is produced by the “About Production” company, starring the Lebanese director and actress Nadine Labaki, Roderick Suleiman, and a large number of children, including the character of the hero “Wissam”, a student at the school, who is trying to reveal his love for his girlfriend, student with him in same grade. But the bombing takes place, the school is affected, and there is great confusion among everyone. The work reflects scenes of fear, frustration and shock for students and their teachers.
Mons confirmed that the film tells his personal story, on the last school day he lived in Lebanon before emigrating from it. And when he realized that no one had dealt with this period in a cinematic work, he decided to translate it with his camera because this history is engraved in his memory since he was young.
He indicated that he decided to narrate the impact of the Israeli aerial bombardment on Lebanese civilians to be the subject of his first feature films, which were shown in many festivals and won many awards, including: the Youth Award at the Cannes Festival in 2021, the NETPAC Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019 and the “Youth Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021.” Student Jury” at the eighth edition of the International Film Festival “War on Screen” in 2019, and the award for the best Asian film at the Toronto Festival, the best film at the Murex D’or Festival in 2021, and the International Critics’ Award at the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt. The film was also chosen to represent Lebanon for its Best International Feature Film at the 2020 Academy Awards.