23/08/2005

After the successful comedies Jalla ! Jalla ! (2000) and Kopps (2003), the Lebanon-born director Josef Fares is finally going to unveil his new feature film Zozo today at the Malmö Film Days (22-25 August) prior to the film’s Swedish release through Sonet Film on September 2nd.

The first film entirely written by Fares, Zozo [+see also:
trailer
film profile] is the most autobiographical of his films, partly shot in Lebanon and at Film i Väst’s Trollhättan studios in Sweden. It’s the story of Zozo who grows up in Beirut and tries to lead a ‘normal’ life in spite of a raging civil war. One day, he is forced to leave his family and friends and has to start a new life in a completely unknown country, Sweden.

In the lead roles are Imad Creidi, Antoinette Turk, Carmen Lebbos, Elias Gergi and Viktor Axelsson. Fares’ usual Swedish producer Anna Anthony from Memfis Film is producing with Denmark’s Zentropa Entertainments. Other production partners include Film i Väst, Zozo Ltd, Sigma 3 III Ltd, the Nordic Film & TV Fund and Swedish broadcaster SVT. The film was also supported by the Swedish and Danish Film Institutes and international sales are handled by Trust Film Sales.