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' CountryFrance/Lebanon Shooting Format HD Aspect Ratio 16:9 Dialogue Arabic Directors Michelle Keserwany, Noel Keserwany ProductionDewberries Films, Biennale de Lyon Producer Marine Vaillant Associate Producer Kadist Screenwriter Michelle Keserwany CinematographerKarim Ghorayeb Editor Konstant 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 Golden Ger International Film Festival 2023, Mongolia 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.
