|
 But Lebanon's Jimmy Keyrouz
said he took heart from the themes of his movie
"Broken Keys", which tells its own story of
finding hope in the midst of disaster.
The film follows a young man called Karim living
somewhere in Iraqi and Syrian territory occupied
by Islamic State militants and dreaming of
escaping to Europe to become a musician.
At the start of the film, the fighters smash up
his piano. He then tries to rebuild the
instrument to sell it to fund his journey.
"If I was to summarise the spirit of the film in
one sentence or saying I would say: 'Life is not
about waiting for the storm to pass - it's about
learning to dance in the rain'," Keyrouz told
Reuters TV, quoting artist and author Vivian
Greene.
"I guess it sums up the film pretty well and
sums up our situation. You just gotta keep
working, keep moving forward."
Keyrouz said he filmed part of "Broken Keys" in
the Iraqi city of Mosul. "We filmed at the last
area that ISIS (Islamic State) fought, and even
there in some places we smelled ... dead bodies
under the rubble."
[to top of second column]
|
 Cannes chose the film for its
2020 lineup, alongside works by Wes Anderson and
other star directors.
But the world's biggest cinema showcase, usually
held in May on the French Riviera, called off
its events during the lockdown.
Organisers this month published the list of
their 56-film line-up, saying they still wanted
to use the festival's cachet to help promote the
movies.
"I can only be very happy and grateful for
Cannes to have supported and selected the film,
despite not having the festival," Keyrouz said,
adding that he was still hoping to start
releasing the film later this year.
(Reporting by Imad Creidi and Maria Semerdjian;
Writing by Andrew Heavens; Editing by Alexandra
Hudson)
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