Berlinale Bloggers 2024  2 min “Co-Producing is Like Getting Married”

The duo Christelle Younes and George Peter Barbari are taking part in the Berlinale for the second time with the film project “So the Lovers Could Come Out Again”, a queer love story between two snipers. Ahmed Shawky met Christelle Younes in Berlin.

On the wall of a house on the frontlines of the Lebanese civil war, a declaration of love is inscribed. Director George Peter Barbari is turning it into a film: “So the Lovers Could Come Out Again” (“Beirut House” in Arabic), a story of forbidden love between two snipers. The film’s producer, Christelle Younes, is taking part in the 2024 Berlinale Talents programme, and their project is featuring at the Berlinale Co-Production Market.  

This is the second time the duo has taken part in the festival, having shown their first film “Death of a Virgin and the Sin of Not Living” at the 2021 edition – held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. I spoke with Christelle about her participation and how she sees the project. 

Although you produced the film “Death of a Virgin and the Sin of Not Living”, which was shown at the Berlinale, you’re physically at the festival for the first time. How do you feel? 

We were unlucky when our first film was selected for the 2021 edition, because it was held virtually. So I’m visiting the city for the first time, despite having already taken part in the festival. I’ve been walking past the venues and seeing the shows and the red carpets and thinking: We were meant to have that full experience and be there in person! But in the end, this isn’t the first or last film I’ll produce or George will direct. We’ll be back again, with other films. 

Did that unusual experience create a special relationship with the festival? 

Of course I had preconceptions about the size of the Berlinale, but the reality shocks you. It’s even bigger than you imagine. You feel that the festival is everywhere in the city, that it’s a huge machine for cinematic production, that never stops – there’s no time to waste.  

The Berlinale isn’t a festival for relaxation, but for being serious and constantly moving as you look for opportunities to meet key people and try to create partnerships. But what’s more important than finding a partner is finding the right partner. Co-producing is like getting married. If it’s not between two suitable parties, there’s no way it can produce positive results. 

Making a queer Arab film is extremely difficult; the obstacles start even before the journey begins. Why were you so keen to produce this film? 

What I love about George’s films is his ability to show his characters as real human beings, not just as characters in a movie. This is particularly important in queer stories, because we sometimes forget that their heroes are just normal human beings who are trying to enjoy life, but have usually grown up in very difficult circumstances in their families and societies. Some of them spend years hiding their true colours from everyone, which is extremely difficult. 

When George saw a declaration of love written on the wall of the Beirut House, he began imagining the story between the two characters, and how that wall was a space where they could be together. Something similar applies to almost all queer relationships. It’s true that the events of the film take place during the war, but they also express a general situation: the people in the relationship have to fight a war outside to keep hold of the space that unites them inside. 

But it must be difficult to finance this project in the Arab world. 

We certainly know that. We’re there, we can’t deny this fact. I classify myself as queer woman, because I’ve been in a relationship with a woman before, even though I’m now with a man. I don’t know exactly what I want in life, but I believe we should refuse to be categorised into lists. So I found that this story speaks to me personally, and so did George. We will try to get the story out into the light, even if the environment is not welcoming. 

But any film is governed by the region it comes from, and we all know that these stories are difficult to tell in the Arab world. How will you deal with that? 

We’ve already been asked by some people in the region to tell the story while ignoring the element of sexual attraction, to portray it as a “bromance”. I know the suggestion was made with positive motives, out of a desire to help the project, but we didn’t take it up. 

Sadly, even though we know that the industry in the region loves the project and wants to support it, it can’t. This puts me in a weak position as an Arab producer, meaning I have to come to Europe and ask for support, in exchange for rights over the film. I refuse to bring agendas to the West or implement the ideas of others, so I’m insisting that we need to find the right partner to get our voices across, not just partners who support the film or tries to communicate their own voice through us. 

How did the film become one of the 10 projects from around the world to be selected for the Berlinale Co-Production Market? 

This is not the first time I’ve entered this project for the program. I submitted it last year and I thought we had a great shot, given that we had already taken part in the Berlinale with our first film. So I was surprised when we were rejected. But I later realised that it made sense, because we didn’t have a confirmed source of financing.  

Later, a friend told us that the easiest thing would be for me to apply for Berlinale Talents and include the project as the work I was bringing to the programme as a producer. This would then make it eligible for selection in the co-production market, even if we hadn’t secured part of the budget first. It’s a great privilege for us to present the project just like other projects that have already secured 80% of their budgets, thanks to the fact I’m taking part in the talent programme. 

Do you think you will benefit from taking part? 

There’s no doubt about it. The best thing about the Berlinale is that everyone expects bold, adventurous and out-of-the-ordinary projects, and there is no need for any pretence or to hide the details of your work. The feedback is already positive, but the results will be confirmed when we find suitable partners. I hope that will happen soon. 
 

February 2024