Lebanon at Oscars 2021: “Broken Keys” sparks controversy

Yesterday, Tuesday, the Lebanese Ministry of Culture announced in a statement that Jimmy Keyrouz’s film “Broken Keys” has been officially selected to represent Lebanon in the foreign cinema category at the 93rd edition of the Oscars, expected on April 25. 2021. The ministry’s statement drew attention to the fact that the decision was made by a technical committee made up of a group of experts, directors and film critics, as well as the Director General of the Ministry of Culture, Ali Al-Samad, who decided the result after he chose Broken Keys, after a tie with Ahmed Ghossein’s “The Sound Wall” for vocals. The film stars Sarah Abi Kanaan, Adel Karam and Tariq Yaqoub with Badi Abu Shakra, Hassan Murad, Fadi Abi Samra, Rodrigue Soliman, Julian Farhat and others. The story revolves around “Karim”, who lives somewhere in the Iraqi and Syrian lands occupied by ISIS terrorists, and dreams of fleeing to Europe to become a musician.

But the announcement of the news was accompanied by widespread controversy in Lebanese film circles and on social media. A few days ago, the media reported confirmed news that the “wall of sound” would represent Lebanon at the world event, and that the matter was resolved after fierce competition between the two jobs. The official statement from the Ministry of Culture arrived and indicated that the voice of its Director General returned to Broken Keys, although well-informed sources confirm that at first he was in favor of the “wall of sound.”
The same sources wondered if there was pressure to change the result in favor of the film produced by Lebanese businessman Antoun Sehnaoui through his company Ezekiel Film Production. It also raises questions about the “legality” of what happened behind the scenes.
Broken Keys would be screened at the 2020 “Cannes International Film Festival” which was canceled due to the Corona pandemic, and is Keruse’s first full-length narrative experience.
It should be noted that “The Sound Wall” (production of “Abut Productions”) had received critical reception at festivals around the world, for example, it won three awards at the seventy-seventh session of the “Venice Film Festival”. It is the first feature film to its author’s credit, and its events take place in Lebanon during the July 2006 war. It stars Karam Ghossein, Adel Shaheen, Boutros Rouhana, Issam Bou Khaled, Sahar Beak Karami and Flavia Juska Bishara. .