A long feature film produced with Azm’s Media students

Seventy-two scenes. That is how long the movie The Way Out will be, and it will be responsibility of Azm Media students and graduates of the Media program to make every one of these scenes captivating.

The Way Out is the story of a group of Lebanese who have lost any hope in their country and resort to signing up to travel illegally to Europe in an improvised boat owned by “Captain Jamil.” Some are extremely poor and have to sell all they have to get on the boat, others cannot find a way to emigrate except by doing so illegally. The good old days when the Lebanese could apply for an “emigration visa” are dead and gone. The message of the movie is that emigration, once the safety valve of the Lebanese, is no longer possible legally. No country wants Lebanese emigrants any more!

“It may be too dark a picture of the situation in Lebanon,” says Ramez Maluf, president of the University, “but the fact is that never before had the Lebanese to resort to emigrate illegally like they have to today. We hear of illegal boats attempting to traverse the Mediterranean all the time.”

In the past, emigrants crossing the sea in unsafe dinghies was something associated with refugees from war zones, or the indigent from poverty-stricken countries. In the last few months, unfortunately, the Lebanese have joined this heartrending group.

Dr. Maluf initially wrote an outline for the movie and discussed it with a committee of colleagues that helped the idea mature further. He then developed the whole script which, he says, will continue to evolve in the pre-production stage.

“I am very happy with the enthusiasm that staff, students, and faculty showed in the movie. We will be relying totally on amateur talent, so it’s going to be a challenge,” said Dr. Maluf. “I am particularly happy that our graduates have come back to university to help us with production.”

Dr. Maluf says he does not underestimate the difficulties of producing a long feature movie with just amateur talent. “I expect it to be tough. That is what makes it interesting. We will work on each of those 72 scenes, like that scene was the entire movie.”

Interested in helping with the movie? In any capacity. Contact Ms. Jana Omary in Arts & Sciences, Ms. Dima Alameddine in Admissions, or Ms. Darine Dernayka in the President’s Office.