EXCLUSIVE: Dubai-based MAD World, the newly launched global film sales company, has acquired the worldwide sales rights to Nadim Tabet’s Lebanese ghost story IN THIS DARKNESS I SEE YOU, which is currently in production.

IN THIS DARKNESS I SEE YOU stars Ziad Jallad, Marilyne Naaman, Maya Dagher, Moe Lattouf and Hasan Douba in a supernatural story that follows the strange events that occur at a construction site in a Lebanese village. Tension between the Syrian workers and the local villagers comes to a head after one worker becomes convinced that the site is haunted.

“Is it possible to continuously build upon the rubble of the past without being haunted by the ghosts of our history?” asks director Tabet, who co-wrote the screenplay alongside Antoine Waked and Jamal Belmahi. “The figure of the ghost seems to me to be an accurate metaphor to describe how, in Lebanon, the past haunts the present to the point of plunging it into eternal repetition. I have a feeling that if walls are being built between people everywhere in the world, it is because instead of facing their ‘history,’ several countries accuse the ‘other’ of being the cause of all their misfortunes.

Added Tabet: “Despite the darkness of its subject, my film is above all a love story.”

Lensed by cinematographer Mark Khalife, IN THIS DARKNESS I SEE YOU is produced by Georges Schoucair, Lebanon’s pre-eminent independent producer whose long list of credits include MEMORY BOX, COSTA BRAVA, LEBANON; IT MUST BE HEAVEN; WAJIB and BEAUTY AND THE DOGS and Eli Souaiby from Clandestino Films. Co-producers are Antoine Waked and Arnaud Dommerc.

The film is an international co-production between Schoucair’s Abbout Productions (Lebanon), Clandestino Films (Lebanon) and Andolfi (France), with Egypt’s Film Clinic Indie Distribution handling the film’s MENA sales and release. IN THIS DARKNESS I SEE YOU received funding from the Red Sea Film Fund, Doha Film Institute, and Lebanese Film Fund. The film was previously part of the Frontières co-production market in Montreal.

“For a long time, I've wanted to make a distinctly Lebanese genre film,” explained producer Schoucair. “Nadim's film skillfully intertwines the ghost story genre with a timely political subtext. We are excited to have wrapped the shoot with an incredibly dedicated team and an outstanding cast from Lebanon and Syria.”

 “It’s always been our goal to foster and present films that shed new light on our often-misunderstood region,” commented MAD World co-presidents, Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab, the two co-founders of MAD Solutions. “We are delighted to be collaborating with Georges Schoucair and his team of co-producers to bring Nadim’s vision to the world. This film is a refreshing take on the Lebanese-Syrian conflicts with a supernatural twist that makes the film both unique and timeless.”

Added MAD World co-president Colin Brown: “Arab cinema is brimming with unconventional ideas, gifted talents and resourceful storytelling. IN THIS DARKNESS I SEE YOU is another example of that creative inventiveness on display: a supernatural love story that speaks to the current situation in Lebanon - and indeed everywhere else.”

About MAD Solutions:

Founded in 2010, MAD Solutions boasts a rights library in excess of 500 film titles and is prolific in the financing, production, packaging, sales, marketing, and releasing of Arab entertainment that spans the gamut from festival prize-winners to commercial blockbusters. MAD World, Arab cinema first global sales company, is the latest division to be launched by the company; its other divisions include MAD Celebrity, the Arab world’s leading talent promotion agency and MAD Distribution, the MENA region film distribution company that specialized in Arab-language feature films and shorts.