Fouad Mahouly is busy repairing broken cars in his shabby car repair shop. In the midst of the dirty, crumbling, rubble shop, he continues to welcome his guests with the assistance of his employee, Mohammad. He treats them to a cup of coffee while repairing their cars. Despite being among a pile of scrap metal, chickens, goats, and the verge of collapsing building, the repair shop is never empty of people coming to visit.
Thiiird (Karim Kassem, 2023) is a thoughtful documentary that transgresses the boundaries of reality and fiction. Featuring black-and-white cinematography and minimal dialogue throughout its 94 minutes duration, this documentary is silent, quiet, and cold. In this silence, Fouad’s workshop becomes a gathering place for people with their own problems. The war and the plummeting economy are the setting surrounding these people. They are people who need a way out and people who are willing to listen to each other’s stories and misseries.
Thiiird (2023) reveals the desperation and hardship of Lebanese people, from young to old, through the visitors at Fouad’s repair shop. Unemployment, drug addiction, sleepless nights, and the inability of parents to pay for their children’s tuition fees are complex problems for them. The impact of the economic collapse and the political turmoil of their country has left everyone spiraling downward.
The documentary is laced with bitter jokes at times. For instance, what if Fouad and Mohammad knocked down a passing helicopter to retrieve its metal. In fact, as we know, these days every helicopter that flies over the skies of Lebanon is a militia ready to engage in combat. In the midst of deep despair; optimism, resilience, and meaningful relationships become other frames in this documentary.
“We are children of the land, from the land, no…. We leave our homeland, and to this homeland we will return.”
This scene also appears symbolically when Fouad takes the chickens out of the coop.
After working on broken cars in his repair shop, Fouad realized that it wasn’t just cars that needed fixing, but also their owners. When he realized this, he went on a journey with his friend. A transcendent and symbolic journey. On this trip, he again tries to redefine a relationship. He continues to travel by car. The silence throughout the documentary is broken by the dialogues that Fouad, who has been silent throughout the documentary, begins to utter. A smile appeared on his face as he came out of the dark alley and boarded the ship with a brightly colored light. A hope is born from the darkness he has been carrying.
Follow Fouad Mahouly’s symbolic journey in Thiiird (2023). This film is featured in the program Utopia/Dystopia Festival Film Dokumenter 2023. (Ahmad Radhitya Alam) (Vanis)
Detail Film
Thiiird
Karim Kassem | 94 Min | 2023 | Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia | BW | 17+
Screening Schedule
12.06 | Bioskop Sonobudoyo | 13.00 WIB
12.09 | Auditorium IFI-LIP | 13.00 WIB
