Lucien Bourjeily

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Lucien Bourjeily
لوسيان بورجيلي
Lucien Bourjeily.jpg
Born
Lucien Bourjeily

Beirut, Lebanon
NationalityLebanese
Alma mater Loyola Marymount University (2013)
Occupation(s)Playwright, Director, Filmmaker, Actor
Notable work Heaven Without People, 66 Minutes in Damascus, Vanishing State

Lucien Bourjeily is an Emmy-nominated [1] writer and director of both theater and film. His work has traveled the worldwide festival circuits and won him many awards of which the 2017 Dubai International Film Festival Jury Prize. [2] He brought his progressive approach to theatre to London's LIFT Festival in 2012 with his hard-hitting immersive play "66 Minutes in Damascus" which was chosen as one of 10 plays in the world that "rethink the stage" by the Huffington Post. [3]

In 2012, he was chosen by CNN as one of 8 leading cultural lights from Lebanon's contemporary arts scene that are making an impact in Lebanon and internationally. [4] A year later, he challenged the Lebanese government with an anti-censorship play entitled "Will it pass or not?" which was banned from public performance by the Lebanese general security but created an unprecedented media backlash against the bureau. Therefore, in May 2014 the general security confiscated Bourjeily's passport in an obscure administrative procedure called "subduing of critics" but they backed down on their decision 48 hours later after Lebanese general public outcry. For his activism against censorship on the arts in Lebanon he was nominated for the 2014 "Freedom of Expression" award held annually at the Barbican Center in London by Index on Censorship. [5] [6] [7] [8]

He wrote and directed "Vanishing State" at the Battersea Arts Center in London as part of the 2014 LIFT festival. The play implicates the audience in drafting the Middle East's countries borders along with French and English diplomats (Sykes and Picot) at the end of World War I, a secret agreement at the time, whose consequences are still strongly felt today throughout the Levant region. [9]

Just months after the civil strife in Tripoli ended, during the spring of 2015, he wrote a play entitled "Love and War on the Rooftop", which was performed, under his direction, by ex-fighters from the warring neighborhoods of Beb El Tebbeneh and Jabal Mohsen. [10] [11] [12]

His most recent play entitled "Beirut Syndrome" exploring the theme of political corruption was banned from public performance in Lebanon by the Lebanese General Security. [13] [14]

Awards and nominations

Award/FestivalCategoryNominee (s)ResultYear
Miami International Film Festival Jordan Ressler Screenwriting Award Heaven Without People Nominated2018
RiverRun International Film Festival Best Film Heaven Without People Nominated2018
Cinequest Film Festival Global Vision Award Heaven Without People Won2018
Independent Film Festival Boston Best Film Heaven Without People Nominated2018
Festival des Cinémas Arabes à Paris Special Jury Prize Heaven Without People Won2018
Festival des Cinémas Arabes à Paris Best Ensemble Cast Heaven Without People Won2018
Los Angeles Film Festival World Fiction - Best Film Heaven Without People Nominated2018
Hamburg Film Festival Critic's Choice Award Heaven Without People Nominated2018
Festival du film arabe de Fameck Grand Prix Heaven Without People Won2018
Washington DC FilmFest Jury Prize Arabian Sights Heaven Without People Won2018
Mostra de València Golden Palm Heaven Without People Nominated2018
St. Louis International Film Festival Joe Pollack Jury Award Heaven Without People Nominated2018
Cairo International Film Festival Salah Abu Seif Award Heaven Without People Nominated2018
Dubai International Film Festival Special Jury Prize Heaven Without People Won2017

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References

  1. https://www.iemmys.tv/nominees/beirut-607/
  2. Variety - Lebanese helmer Lucien Bourjeily scores the special jury prize for ‘Heaven Without People’
  3. Huffington Post - 10 Interactive plays that rethink the stage
  4. CNN - 8 Leading Lights in Lebanese Culture
  5. Index on Censorship - Whatever you write about, don’t write about the censors
  6. NOW News - Censoring the play about censorship
  7. IFEX - Playwright pursued by Lebanese authorities for his play on censorship
  8. Lebanon: General security return passport to critical writer
  9. LIFT Festival After a War program including Vanishing State Archived 1 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Play unites former militiamen from two sides of Lebanese conflict - The Guardian
  11. Love and war in Lebanon: how theatre is turning rival fighters into friends- The Guardian
  12. Theatre: A cure for Lebanon's sectarian tensions? - Al Jazeera
  13. Lebanon: ANHRI Deplores the Censorship Conditions for Licensing "Beirut Syndrome" Play
  14. Une nouvelle pièce de théâtre de Lucien Bou Rjeily interdite par la SG