A theatre director, specialising in working with disadvantaged and traumatised people, Zeina Daccache struggled to set up Lebanon’s first prison-based drama project in the country’s notorious Roumieh Prison. For 15 months, 45 inmates, some completely illiterate, found themselves working together to present an adaptation of the famous stage play 12 Angry Men, here renamed 12 Angry Lebanese. In the film, the drama therapy sessions, the interviews with the inmates and the interaction with both director and audience, convey a message of hope, forgiveness and change. Through their artistic journey, these murderers, drug dealers and rapists reveal kindness and faith in humankind. Inspiring and honest, this account of the prisoners’ journey demonstrates the positive effect of drama therapy and its effect on some of the most ostracized individuals in society.
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and emerging. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.
