Arzé, a single mother, is determined to buy her son a used scooter so he can help her deliver the mouth-watering pies she bakes, her only source of income. To make this happen, she steals and pawns her sister's bracelet–which may or may not have been a good idea.
But alas, the scooter is stolen! And when the police are useless–it's Lebanon after all–Arzé takes matters into her own hands and drags her reluctant son all over Beirut in search of the missing scooter.
Arzé and her son quickly find themselves embroiled in a long journey full of twists and turns as they navigate the sectarianism and chaos of Beirut. To blend in with each neighborhood they visit, Arzé gets creative and puts on a whole disguise. She's a chameleon, changing her accent, donning a hijab or a Christian cross, and even giving Kinan a new name. She'll do anything to find the scooter.
The quest is long and frustrating. As tensions rise and family secrets are revealed, finding the scooter is at stake and so is the unity of Arzé's family.
The film is written and produced by Louay Khraish and Faissal Sam Shaib.[2] The script, by Faissal Sam Shaib and Louay Khraish, was an Official Finalist in the First Time Screenwriter Competition at the 2018 Amsterdam Film Festival Van Gogh Awards[3]
After being signed on the project, Mira Shaib and Producer Zeina Badran were selected in 2018 to Film Independent's Global Media Makers LA Residency where they developed the project.[4] In 2019, the film was among only six Arabic projects selected to the inaugural Red Sea Lodge,[5][6][7] which was in collaboration with the TorinoFilmLab.[8][9] The film, originally titled, I Am Arzé, was among the first recipients of the Red Sea Film Festival Foundation Production Fund.[10][11]
Production
Film production was delayed due to the mass protests in Beirut and later the pandemic, but shooting eventually took place at the end of 2022, albeit during the worst financial crisis Lebanon had witnessed.[12]
Release
Mira Shaib, Louay Khraish, Zeina Badran and Faissal Sam Shaib at the Tribeca premiere of Arzé, June 2024
The film had its world premiere in Beijing and its North American premiere in Tribeca.[13] The Tribeca screenings were hosted by the nonprofit film organization, The Future of Film is Female.
Arzé was initially selected to premiere in the Official Competition of the 45th Cairo International Film Festival, but the festival was canceled due to the Israel-Hamas War.[14] The film was selected again the following year to compete in the Horizons of Arab Cinema where Louay Khraish and Faissal Sam Shaib won the Youssef Sherif Rezkallah Award for Best Screenplay and Diamand Abou Abboud the Best Actress Award,[15] a day after she won the Snow Leopard Best Actor Award at the Asian World Film festival.[16]
Arzé received positive reviews after its premiere in Tribeca. Liz Whittemore of Reel News Daily praised the film, saying it was "a slice of genius" and "a delightful and entirely unexpected film in Tribeca 2024’s lineup, but undeniably one of the best."[26] Whittemore also praised the script by Louay Khraish and Faissal Sam Shaib, saying it offered "moments of levity amidst the seriousness of Arzé’s plight... an interesting commentary on blame, the dangers of stereotyping, and tribalism."[26] Paul Emmanuel Enicola of The Movie Buff praised Mira Shaib for "making Arzé a multidimensional character that makes her more relatable, frustrating, endearing, and more human."[27] Nicole Sherine from the Alliance of Women Film Journalists, also praised how Shaib directed the film "with an eye toward sensory experiences—imbuing the film with a rise and fall; highs of humor and intimacy juxtaposed with lows of disillusionment and anger."[28]
