lebanese anthology home bitter home to world premiere at iffr as mad world acquires sales rights

MAD World, MAD Solutions’ international sales arm, has secured the worldwide sales rights for the Lebanese film HOME BITTER HOME, produced by Georges Hachem, ahead of its world premiere in the Harbor Section of the 55th International Film Festival Rotterdam in the Netherlands (January 29th – February 8th).

The film is an anthology comprising short films by six emerging Lebanese directors.

A collaborative Lebanese artwork, HOME BITTER HOME closes in on the crossed intimate portraits of five little-known artists in their late thirties, whose personal crises are inextricably linked to the multiple crises of today's Beirut, the hometown where they evolve, struggling to meet their own needs.

HOME BITTER HOME will screen at the festival on the following dates:

● Sunday, February 1st 9:15 pm — Pathé 3
● Tuesday, February 3rd 2:45 pm — LantarenVenster 5
● Thursday, February 5th 11:45 am — KINO 4

Produced by Stray Bee, HOME BITTER HOME is directed and penned by Ghina Abboud, Naim El Hajj, Salim Mrad, Aline Ouais, Jihad Saadé, and Marie-Rose Osta; and stars Sara Fakhri, Hadi Deaibes, Adham Al Dimashki, Dana Dia, and Dhana Mkhayel. MAD Distribution is handling its distribution across the MENA region, while MAD World handles its worldwide sales.

Its stories are lensed by Jean Hatem, Elsy Hajjar, Jihad Saadé, and Jocelyne Abi Gebrayel; and edited by Ghina Abboud, Georges Hachem, Naim El Hajj, Sandra Fatte, Jihad Saadé, and Marie-Rose Osta; with sound design handled by Raed Younan, Hadi Deaibes, François Yazbeck, John Paul Jalwan, and Victor Bresse.

Georges Hachem is a Lebanese director and producer who graduated from the Louis Lumière National School in Paris after studying theater at the Lebanese University. Since 1992, he has directed numerous short films through acting workshops he regularly led in Paris and Beirut, before returning to Lebanon in 2006 to establish and head the Department of Audiovisual Studies at Antonin University until 2014. His narrative work includes EVENING MASS (2009) and the feature film STRAY BULLET (2010), starring Nadine Labaki and winner of the Best Arab Film Award at the Dubai International Film Festival.

In 2016, he released his second feature, STILL BURNING, shot between Paris and Beirut and starring Wajdi Mouawad, Adila Bendimerad, and Fadi Abi Samra. His most recent film, WERE IT NOT FOR METRO (2022), a documentary centered on the performers of a long-running Lebanese cabaret show in Beirut, won the Best Arab Documentary Award at the Malmö Arab Film Festival.

Ghina Abboud is a Lebanese filmmaker with a background in audiovisual arts and journalism, graduating in 2013 from Al Kafaat University and the Lebanese University. She began her career as a segment director for television before moving into independent filmmaking, debuting with BATOUL, DO YOU SEE ME? and later directing and producing five short films: ROBERT! (2016), PERMISSION (2017), YOUSSEF (2017), LIGHT (2021), and MUSCA (2022).

In 2024, she released her first feature documentary, UNTIL WE REST, produced in collaboration with Al Jazeera Documentaries, which won the Lune d’Or at the Festival International des Jeunes Cinéastes in Montreuil, France. She is currently developing a new film exploring the ongoing conflict in South Lebanon while editing her upcoming feature documentary, AARSAL, THRONE OF GOD.

Naim El Hajj is a Lebanese director born in San Jose, Costa Rica, based in Beirut, and holds a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from the Lebanese University. His work spans visual art and cinema, with participation in major exhibitions such as the Biennale (BJCEM) in Thessaloniki and a shortlist placement for the Arte Laguna Prize in 2016 for his installations.

In recent years, he has shifted his focus to film, and in 2024, his essay film INEVITABLE NILS AND NOTHINGS IN BETWEEN (INTRODUCTION) was officially selected for the 11th International Video Poetry Festival in Athens, Greece, and won the Best Essay Film award at the Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente de Madrid.

Salim Mrad is a Beirut-born filmmaker and educator who studied cinema at IESAV, Saint Joseph University, earning two master’s degrees in filmmaking and film research. Since 2011, he has taught cinema at various high schools and universities while building a diverse body of work that spans documentary essays and fiction, including LETTER TO MY SISTER (2008), THE CONCEPTION (2012), and TEA WITH ADONIS (2022).

His feature documentaries and essay films — THIS LITTLE FATHER OBSESSION (2016), LINCEUL (2018), AGATE MOUSSE (2021), and SHAPES OF NORMAL HUMAN BEINGS (2025) — have premiered at major international festivals. Alongside his film work, he recently published his first two short story collections with the Paris-based publisher Les Impliqués Éditeur.

Aline Ouais is a Lebanese director and cinematographer who graduated from Al Kafaat University (AKU) in 2012–2013. Her graduation film, UNDER THE BED, was selected for both the Alexandria Film Festival and the Vienna Film Festival.

Since 2015, she has worked extensively across commercials, music videos, and documentaries with Lebanese and international production houses, and her short film WISH WE COULD won the Best Film Award at the Beirut 48-Hour Film Project in 2019. Most recently, she served as director of photography on a feature documentary exploring the life and legacy of renowned Lebanese composer Elias Rahbani.

Jihad Saadé is a Lebanese filmmaker who graduated from Notre Dame University in 2012, where his graduation short film ALL ABOUT HER won the Best Student Film award at the Barcelona International Film Festival. He has since worked as a cinematographer and director on a range of campaigns and documentaries, with recent works including the short fiction film NOT FAR FROM HERE (2023) and DIARIES FROM LEBANON, a feature documentary he shot that was selected for Berlinale in 2024.

His latest film, SHAPES OF NORMAL HUMAN BEINGS, a feature documentary co-written and produced with director Salim Mrad, had its world premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in 2025.

Marie-Rose Osta is an independent Lebanese scriptwriter and director whose latest film, THEN CAME DARK, won the Special Jury Award at the 43rd Cairo International Film Festival and was featured in the Video Brazil section of the 40th São Paulo Biennale.

She is currently developing her debut feature film while producing the short film SOMEDAY, A CHILD, both conceived as a diptych exploring the mystery of childhood, and is also expanding into series development with a paranormal project inspired by urban legends.