International Competition

DEATH OF A VIRGIN AND THE SIN OF NOT LIVING

• Director: George Peter Barbari
• LEBANON / 2021 / DCP / Colour / 87’ / Arabic; Turkish s.t., English s.t. (online only)

• Screenplay: George Peter Barbari
• Director of Photography: Karim Ghorayeb
• Editing: George Peter Barbari
• Music: Fadi Tabbal
• Cast: Etienne Assal, Adnan Khabbaz, Jean Paul Frangieh, Elias Saad, Feyrouz Abi Hassan, Souraya Baghdadi
• Producer: Christelle Younes, Reine Jihad Semaan, George Peter Barbari
• Production Co.: Bee on Set Productions
• World Sales: The Festival Agency

2021 Istanbul Special Jury Prize, FIPRESCI Prize

Four teenagers on their way to a sex worker in order to end their “virgin lives” in the north of Lebanon... Crude jokes, insulting remarks, quips to ease the tension. But then, the inner voice of each character on the screen reveals their stance in life, longings, inner fears, and eventually where they will end up years later. A poetic take on a ritual of coming-of-age and “manhood” that is still revered in many places in the world, the film nevertheless reminds us the transient quality and frailty of life, and occasional moments of absurdity. Inspired from his own experience when he was 15-years-old, George Peter Barbari’s directorial debut premiered within the Panorama section of the 2021 Berlin Film Festival.

This film was a Meetings on the Bridge participant.