The collaborative Lebanese feature film HOME BITTER HOME — a poignant exploration of artists striving to reclaim their dreams in today’s Lebanon— held yesterday a well‑received world premiere at the 55th International Film Festival Rotterdam (January 29th-February 8th).
 
The screening was met with an enthusiastic audience response, followed by a lively Q&A session with producer Georges Hachem, directors Marie-Rose Osta and Jihad Saadé, actress Sara Fakhry, and actors Adham Al Dimashki and Hadi Deaibes.
 
Conceived, developed, and produced by Georges Hachem, HOME BITTER HOME   closes in on the crossed intimate portraits of five little-known artists in their late thirties, whose personal crises are inextricably linked to the multiple crises of today's Beirut, the hometown where they evolve, struggling to meet their own needs.
 
Audiences will have additional opportunities to experience the film at the festival, beginning with a screening at 12:17 am on Monday, February 2nd at Pathé 3. It will then be shown at 2:45 pm on Tuesday, February 3rd at LantarenVenster 5, before a final screening at 11:45 am on Thursday, February 5th at KINO 4.
 
Produced by Stray Bee along with Georges Hachem, HOME BITTER HOME is directed and penned by Ghina Abboud, Naïm El Hajj, Aline Ouais, Salim Mrad, Jihad Saade, and Marie-Rose Osta; stars Sara Fakhry, Hadi Deaibes, Adham Al Dimashki, Dana Dia, and Dhana Mkhayel.
 
“HOME BITTER HOME is a close-up on an all-too-common Lebanese struggle — an overwhelming love for Lebanon and its endearing capital that is married to an unrelenting desire to escape its chaos and start over somewhere more stable. Beirut is the home we fled, but can’t stop missing,” says Georges Hachem.
 
Its stories are lensed by Jean Hatem, Elsy Hajjar, Jihad Saadé, and Jocelyne Abi Gebrayel; and edited by Ghina Abboud, Georges Hachem, Naim El Hajj, Sandra Fatte, Jihad Saadé, and Marie-Rose Osta; with sound design handled by Raed Younan, Hadi Deaibes, François Yazbeck, John Paul Jalwan, and Victor Bresse.
 
About the Filmmakers
Georges Hachem is a Lebanese director and producer, known for STRAY BULLET (2010), winner of Best Arab Film at DIFF, and STILL BURNING (2016). His documentary WERE IT NOT FOR METRO (2022) won Best Arab Documentary at the Malmö Arab Film Festival.
 
Ghina Abboud is a filmmaker and journalist, director of shorts including ROBERT! (2016) and MUSCA (2022). Her debut feature documentary UNTIL WE REST (2024) is produced in collaboration with Al Jazeera Documentaries and won the Lune d’Or at the Festival International des Jeunes Cinéastes in Montreuil, France.
 
Naim El Hajj is a Lebanese director and visual artist, shortlisted for the Arte Laguna Prize (2016). His essay film INEVITABLE NILS AND NOTHINGS IN BETWEEN (INTRODUCTION) (2024) won Best Essay Film at Madrid’s Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente.
 
Salim Mrad is a Beirut-born filmmaker and educator, author of THIS LITTLE FATHER OBSESSION (2016) and AGATE MOUSSE (2021). His latest feature, SHAPES OF NORMAL HUMAN BEINGS (2025), premiered internationally, alongside his published short story collections.
 
Aline Ouais is a director and cinematographer whose graduation film UNDER THE BED screened at the Alexandria and Vienna film festivals. She won Best Film at the Beirut 48-Hour Film Project (2019) with WISH WE COULD and recently shot a documentary on renowned Lebanese composer Elias Rahbani.
 
Jihad Saadé is a filmmaker and cinematographer, winner of Best Student Film at Barcelona IFF for ALL ABOUT HER (2012). His works include NOT FAR FROM HERE (2023) and DIARIES FROM LEBANON (Berlinale 2024). His latest film, SHAPES OF NORMAL HUMAN BEINGS, a feature documentary co-written and produced with director Salim Mrad, had its world premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in 2025.
 
Marie-Rose Osta is an Independent scriptwriter and director whose THEN CAME DARK won the Special Jury Award at Cairo IFF. She is developing her debut feature and short film SOMEDAY, A CHILD, while expanding into series development with a paranormal project inspired by urban legends.