LES CHENILLES
​​​​​by Michelle Keserwany and Noel Keserwany

30min | France/Lebanon | 2023

Asma and Sarah, two women originally from the Levant, find themselves working in the same restaurant in the city of Lyon in France. Both bear the weight of a home they were forced to leave behind. Initially wary of each other, they gradually discover a common thread that binds them - one that dates back to when the Silk Road connected Lyon to their home countries.
In the midst of forced migrations, can we move past our animosity to find solace in each other? 

Year of production 2023
Length 30'
Country France/Lebanon
Shooting Format HD
Aspect Ratio 16:9
Dialogue Arabic
​
Directors Michelle Keserwany, Noel Keserwany
Production Dewberries Films, Biennale de Lyon
Producer Marine Vaillant
Associate Producer Kadist
Screenwriter Michelle Keserwany
Cinematographer Karim Ghorayeb
Editor Konstantin​ Bock
Music by Zeid Hamdan, Lynn Adib
Sound Design Cedric Kayem
Sound Ugo Donias, Angele Keserwany
Color Grading Belal Hibri 
​Cast Masa Zaher, Noel Keserwany

With the support of CNC –Aide au parcours d’Auteur,  la CinéFabrique de Lyon,  La Cité Internationale des Arts de Paris
     
Festival selections
Berlinale, Berlin International Film Festival 2023, Germany - Golden Bear for Best Short Film
Format Court 2023, France
Lichter Filmfest 2023, Germany
Malmo Arab Film Festival 2023, Sweden - Jury Award
Golden Harvest Film Festival 2023, Taiwan
Diaspora Film Festival 2023, South Korea
​​Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg 2023, Germany
​Champs-Élysées Film Festival 2023, France - Audience Award
Golden Ger International Film Festival 2023, Mongolia
​SAFAR Film Festival 2023, UK
​TIFF ODA - Tetova International Film Festival 2023, Republic of Macedonia
​​European Film Festival Palić 2023, Serbia
​FIRST International Film Festival 2023, China
​DokuFest - International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2023, Kosovo
​Kinemastik International Short Film Festival 2023, Malta - Jury Special Mention
​International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala 2023, India
​Concorto Film Festival 2023, Italy
​der NEUE HEIMAT Film 2023, Germany
​​Drama International Short Film Festival 2023, Greece
​Festival War on Screen 2023, France
Tirana International Film Festival 2023, Albania
Arab Film Festival 2023, USA - Best Short Film Award
​Job Film Days 2023, Italy
Reykjavik International Film Festival 2023, Iceland
​Sedicicorto International Film Festival 2023, Italy
Uppsala Short Film Festival 2023, Sweden
​Cinemed - Festival Cinema Mediterranéen Montpellier 2023, France
​Filmfest Sundsvall 2023, Sweden
Le Cri du Court 2023, France - Couronne d'Argent Award
​Ningbo Short Film Festival 2023, China
Cork International Film Festival 2023, Ireland
​Kasseler Dokfest 2023, Germany
​​Caminhos Film Festival 2023, Portugal
Kurzfilmfestival Köln​ 2023, Germany
​Mieres Film Festival 2023, Spain - Best Acting Award,
Best Screenplay Award
Kyiv International Short Film Festival 2023, Ukraine
Festival du Film Libanais de France 2023, France - Best Script Award
Rencontres Films Femmes Méditerranée 2023, France
​Leuven International Short Film Festival 2023, Belgium
All About Us Film Festival 2023, Hong Kong
​Passaggi d’Autore: Intrecci Mediterranei 2023, Italy
​International Usak Short Film Festival 2023, Turkey
​​El Gouna Film Festival 2023, Egypt - El Gouna Star for the Best Arab Short Film
​​London Short Film Festival 2024, UK
​​MENA Film Festival 2024, Canada - Scarlet Pomegranate Award For Best Short Film
​Pragueshorts Film Festival 2024, Czech Republic
​​Macao International Short Film Festival 2024
​​International Filmfest Bremen 2024, Germany
​ZagrebDox 2024, Croatia
​Busan International Short Film Festival 2024, South Korea
​ALFILM - Arab Film Festival Berlin 2024, Germany
​Kino Otok International Film Festival 2024, Slovenia
​Krakow Film Festival 2024, Poland
​Aigio International Short Film Festival "Theodoros Angelopoulos" 2024, Greece - Best Script Award
​Nova Frontier Film Festival 2024, USA - Best Short Film Award
Yerevan Short Film Festival 2024, Armenia
​Melgaço International Documentary Film Festival 2024, Portugal - Best International Short or Medium Length Film​ Award
Open Air Filmfest Weiterstadt 2024, Germany
Golden Grape Short Film Festival 2024, Georgia
​FEMCINE, Festival cine de Mujeres de Santiago de Chile 2024
​Batroun Mediterranean Film Festival 2024, Lebanon - Audience Award
Tripoli Film Festival 2024, Lebanon
​
​Directors' Statement
Between 2019 and 2021 we, Noel and Michelle, slowly found ourselves living in France. Like many from our generation, we left under immense pressure, separated from our home, our mother, and our environment. We were overwhelmed. So, we decided to transform our frustrations into a short film that delves into the myriad experiences of forced migration: Les Chenilles a short film we wrote and filmed in France. Through images - moving and still - we convey what cannot be expressed through words.
Les Chenilles links a forgotten past to an unpredictable present through the lens of gender, labor and the diaspora. It highlights the work of women and the challenges they have faced over centuries.
The inspiration of this story was triggered by an article by Fawwaz Traboulsi called “ Un Amour de Soie” (Beirut-Express - 1996) that explores the relationship between women from Mount Lebanon and foreign silk factories in the 19th century.
In a provoking passage Traboulsi says: Around the year 462 In the context of breeding silkworms to create silk, a Japanese prince said:“it’s in between the breasts of women that cocoons should be placed to hatch”.
The very idea that women in Mount Lebanon had to bear cocoons between their breasts to breed silkworms felt extremely disturbing. Yet, inspired by this imagery and by the difficult conditions of women’s work in French silk factories in the 19th century in the Levant, and especially in Mount Lebanon, we created a modern story of displacement. Les Chenilles goes back in time in order to tackle contemporary aspects of migration: work conditions, gender dynamics and the effect of historical events on our modern lives.
In our film, the history of silk is linked to one of youth, and a coming of age, especially of women like us, who had to leave their countries and families under pressure and try to integrate in a new country - building our lives from scratch, while grappling between two places. In the film, Sarah, played by Noel, has recently arrived in France trying to integrate, while still closely attached to her home country Lebanon. Her life suddenly disrupted, she experiences panic attacks and internal pressures that are symptomatic of post traumatic disorders she and many other Lebanese and youth from countries in the region carry.
Asma (played by Masa Zaher) is from one of these countries, Syria, and came to France 5 years ago. She has integrated into French society and developed a thick skin in the process. Sarah ‘s vulnerability reminds Asma of her own beginnings, when she arrived in Europe raw with pain. This triggers Asma, who is angry because of her own struggles, but also the suffering of women from the Levant. Through her, we retell the forgotten story of the labor of women through time and the cumulative effect of this burdened past on our present as young women trying to work and live in and outside our countries. Our film evokes the connection between those two women, and the friendship that will evolve between them. The two characters carry their deep fears and the weight of this internal loneliness that can only be filled when we meet people who have been through similar experiences.
Les Chenilles aims to address the desire to fill the void that forced migration creates. In it we express our deepest thoughts, strengths and fears, as we confront this new chaotic era, with honesty and transparency. This film is our way to digest our feelings and struggles, as a first step forward to build friendships and connect with people around us.