NewDirectorº | Dania Bdeir

‘I’m inspired by stories I hear, people I meet,
new worlds I learn about and immersive soundscapes.’

 

electriclime° are delighted to have added award-winning filmmaker Dania Bdeir to their director roster.

The Lebanese writer and director will be represented exclusively in Asia and Australia, and on a freelance basis in the MENA region.

Based in Dubai, Bdeir has a wealth of experience through her work, with her film Kaleidoscope screening internationally and winning several awards, including the Golden Palm at the 2014 Mexico International Film Festival.

Her film, In White, received a grant from the Spike Lee Production Fund and won the international competition at the Rio de Janeiro International short film festival.

Meanwhile, her latest project, Warsha, was shortlisted at the 95th Oscars in the Live Action Short Film category, having already won the short film jury award – International fiction, at the Sundance Film Festival earlier that year.

Warsha has played in over 300 film festivals and won over 100 awards, while currently being streamed on Netflix MENA, the Criterion channel and can be rented on iTunes/Apple TV almost globally.

Along with her narrative work, she has also done spots for Dior and Piaget, while also linking up with electriclime° for Estée Lauder’s ‘Reach For The Stars’ campaign.

EL: How did you get started in the industry?

Dania Bdeir: It was very apparent at a very young age that I loved dressing up and playing different roles.

I thought that I wanted to be an actress when I grew up.

My parents both worked full time and my sisters are significantly older so, I didn’t really have anyone to play with when I was a kid so I basically grew up watching American tv nonstop and imitating all those western characters.

My dad, may his soul rest in peace, was always filming everything and I guess he saw something in me because I was the only one out of my sisters who was gifted a video camera when I was around 15 years old.

And that was that. I started filming everything around me completely enthralled with the stories and characters of Lebanon.

When it came time to apply to university, I didn’t have the courage or the encouragement to go to film school so I ended up studying graphic design in the American university of Beirut.

I was a terrible graphic designer, but the good thing is, the program was very much rooted in the environment so in those 4 years, I actually got to go all around Lebanon, meet a lot of people and dig up a lot of stories. At the same time, I used to go on TVC sets and volunteer as a PA. Even though they were very challenging days with crazy long hours and I wasn’t getting paid, I used to be invigorated and thrilled to be behind the scenes of shoots.

As soon as I graduated from graphic design, I packed my bags and moved to NYC where I got an MFA in filmmaking from NYU, Tisch with a focus on writing and directing.

EL: Where do you find your inspiration from?

DB: Mostly, Lebanon is my biggest source of inspiration even though it’s my biggest heartache as well. But in general, I’m inspired by real life, by people, by underground communities and undiscovered worlds.

I like coming of age stories and focusing on characters that are reconciling between the person they are and the person they’d like to be. I’m inspired by stories I hear, people I meet, new worlds I learn about and immersive soundscapes.

Whenever I meet someone new, I give them the disclaimer that by being friends with me they’re agreeing to the term that anything they say can and will be used in a film one day.

EL: What do you love and what do you dislike about the filmmaking process?

DB: There are so many things I love about the filmmaking process that I’m inclined to answer “everything”. The only thing I don’t like is the fundraising part.

I don’t like how long it takes to get the money together and what this process might mean in terms of compromising creative decisions or affecting who we work with and where we have to work.

You previously worked with electriclime°. Tell us about working on the piece and what attracted you to the project/your approach to it?

The Estée Lauder piece was a really fun project because it was very character driven. I got to spend time with each of these powerful women and the main challenge was to tell their stories and to try and get across a main message that they’d like to communicate in a limited amount of time.

Exploring the world of dance, race car driving and cinema from the point of view of Arab women each trailblazing in their respective fields was empowering and inspiring.

EL: Why are you excited about joining electriclime°?

DB: I’m excited because I loved my experience with electriclime° and I’m genuinely a fan of their work and the directors they represent. I feel like this is a production company that has excellent curatorial skills and that prioritises quality and aesthetic above commercial gains.

I think that’s rare and inspiring. At the end of the day, we’re all dans of video and cinema and we’re very lucky to be in this field so it’s extra fun when you work with likeminded people who bring out the magic in the experience.

EL: Is there an area of filmmaking you’d like to explore/excites you for the future?

DB: In terms of narrative, I’d like to get into series and episodic storytelling. Technically, I’d love to continue to experiment and challenge myself to try new things.

For my short film “Warsha”, I really enjoyed the experience of working in the Volume using LED screens and Unreal Engine Technologies and I’d love to do that again

EL: What’s next for Dania Bdeir?

DB: I’m currently developing my first feature film. It’s called Pigeon Wars and it’s set in Beirut. I’m also developing my first series called Rent-a-Mama. It’s a very exciting time! in between my narrative work, I always look to work on commercial projects or branded content that fits my aesthetic.

I love work that allows me to explore either my love of emotional storytelling or of creating senatorial experiences. Since developing narrative work takes so long, these shorter span projects where I don’t need to worry  About fundraising or distribution,  give me the opportunity to challenge myself creatively and try to capture a brand’s essence through cinema.

You can view her work here.

LOCATION | LEBANON
TIME | 10.27
33.8547° N, 35.8623° E

OnSet° | One Za’abeel

OnSet° | One Za’abeel

NewDirector° | Henry Schofield

NewDirector° | Henry Schofield

Culture° | Rayhan Kandri On Dubai Internship

Culture° | Rayhan Kandri on Dubai Internship

NewDirector° | Ronan Gali

NewDirector° | Ronan Gali

OnSet° | Braun

OnSet° | Braun

NewDirector° | Louis English

NewDirector° | Louis English

OnSet° | CrimsonLogic With Daniel Marjan

OnSet° | CrimsonLogic with Daniel Marjan

NewDirector° | Lee J Ford

NewDirector° | Lee J Ford

Awards° | Betr Wins Gold At CICLOPE Festival

Awards° | Betr wins Gold at CICLOPE Festival

NewDirector° | Sam Templeton

NewDirector° | Sam Templeton

NewDirector° | Martín Romanella

NewDirector° | Martín Romanella

Feature° | Electriclime° At SXSW Sydney

Feature° | electriclime° at SXSW Sydney

NewDirector° | Fernando Hart

NewDirector° | Fernando Hart

Culture° | Shaye Guillory Promoted

Culture° | Shaye Guillory promoted

Office° | Singapore

Office° | Singapore

Office° | Dubai

Office° | Dubai

Office° | Sydney

Office° | Sydney

NewDirector° | Henrik Rostrup

NewDirector° | Henrik Rostrup

NewDirector° | Clare Chong

NewDirector° | Clare Chong

OnSetº | Standard Chartered Bank X Liverpool FC

OnSetº | Standard Chartered Bank x Liverpool FC

NewDirectorº | Roos Brothers

NewDirectorº | Roos Brothers

Finalists | Agency Of The Year Awards 2023

Finalists | Agency of the Year Awards 2023

Newdirector° | Emile Rafael

newdirector° | Emile Rafael

OnSetº | Audi

OnSetº | Audi

NewDirectorº | Kids Of Bill

NewDirectorº | Kids of Bill

NewDirectorº | Adinah Dancyger

NewDirectorº | Adinah Dancyger

NewDirectorº | AOE

NewDirectorº | AOE

NewDirectorº | Dania Bdeir

NewDirectorº | Dania Bdeir

Meet The Team | Dubai

Meet The Team | Dubai

OnSetº | Dyson

OnSetº | Dyson

OnSetº | Riot Games In Berlin

OnSetº | Riot Games in Berlin

OnSetº | Estée Lauder

OnSetº | Estée Lauder

Senior Producer | Dora Claire David

Senior Producer | Dora Claire David

News | Grace Rached Internship Program

News | Grace Rached Internship Program

OnSetº | Toyota Veloz

OnSetº | Toyota Veloz

Producer | Layal Mooti

Producer | Layal Mooti

Electriclime° | 2022

electriclime° | 2022

OnSetº | Saudi Arabia

OnSetº | Saudi Arabia

NewDirectorº | Electriclime° Welcomes Nick Sullivan To Roster

NewDirectorº | electriclime° welcomes Nick Sullivan to roster

On Set | Audi RS3

On Set | Audi RS3

Feature | Mariam Gabunia

Feature | Mariam Gabunia

On Set | Electriclime° Provide Snickers Hunger Support

On set | electriclime° provide Snickers Hunger Support

On Set | Electriclime° Creates Futuristic New Look For Intel’s ‘Evo’ Laptop

On Set | electriclime° creates futuristic new look for Intel’s ‘Evo’ laptop

Winners | Electriclime° Clinch Gold At Shots Awards Asia Pacific 2022

Winners | electriclime° clinch Gold at shots Awards Asia Pacific 2022

Top Ten | Electriclime° In Creativepool List

Top Ten | electriclime° in Creativepool list

Behind The Scenes | ClearScore By Toby Morris

Behind the Scenes | ClearScore by Toby Morris

Awards | Electriclime° Accepted Into Campaign Brief’s The Work 2022

Awards | electriclime° accepted into Campaign Brief’s The Work 2022

On Set | Mastercard

On set | Mastercard

Feature | Grace Rached

Feature | Grace Rached

Feature | Omar Khalifa

Feature | Omar Khalifa

Awards | Electriclime° Recognised At Immortal Awards

Awards | electriclime° recognised at Immortal Awards

Feature | Daniel Marjan

Feature | Daniel Marjan

New Name | Electriclimefilms Changes To Electriclime°

New name | electriclimefilms changes to electriclime°

New Director | Anthony Pellino

New Director | Anthony Pellino

Awards | Electriclime Nominated In AOTY

Awards | electriclime nominated in AOTY

Feature | Director Dania Bdeir On Estée Lauder Film

Feature | Director Dania Bdeir on Estée Lauder film

Interview | Harrison Bo Born

Interview | Harrison Bo Born

On Set | Crazy Domains

On set | Crazy Domains

Feature | Tobias Ross-Southall

Feature | Tobias Ross-Southall

On Set | Target With Pete Moore

On set | Target with Pete Moore

BTS | The Iconic With Lester Jones

BTS | The Iconic with Lester Jones

Feature | Layal Mooti

Feature | Layal Mooti

Awards | Electriclime°’s Durex Film Shortlisted

Awards | electriclime°’s Durex film shortlisted

On Set | Australian Olympic Committee

On Set | Australian Olympic Committee

Feature | Internship Experience In Dubai

Feature | Internship experience in Dubai

New Director | Pete Moore

New Director | Pete Moore

Q&A | Hopi Allard

Q&A | Hopi Allard

On Set | David Beckham Stars In MBS Spot

On Set | David Beckham stars in MBS spot

On Set | Intercontinental

On Set | Intercontinental

16mm Film | DOP Tom Welsh

16mm Film | DOP Tom Welsh

On Set | NCS

On Set | NCS

BTS | Bacardi In NYC

BTS | Bacardi in NYC

On Set | Electriclime° Battles Through Thunder And Rain In Kuala Lumpur

On set | electriclime° battles through thunder and rain in Kuala Lumpur

On Set | Parker Pens

On set | Parker Pens

Behind The Scenes | KFC Confessions

Behind The Scenes | KFC Confessions

BTS | Pete Moore For Clipsal

BTS | Pete Moore for Clipsal

On Set | Acer

On set | Acer

BTS | Lincoln Aviator

BTS | Lincoln Aviator

On Set | Electriclime° Launch Audi E-tron In Singapore

On set | electriclime° launch Audi e-tron in Singapore

Grace Rached

Grace Rached

On Set | Air+ In Singapore And Melbourne

On Set | Air+ in Singapore and Melbourne

On Set | Mexico City

On Set | Mexico City

On Set | Sony In Mongolia

On Set | Sony in Mongolia

On Set | Head Start Homes

On set | Head Start Homes

Electriclime° | Sustainable Set

electriclime° | Sustainable Set

On Set | Dettol

On Set | Dettol