A tale from Beirut

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Independent filmmaker Mahmoud Kaabour recently embarked on an experimental journey with the production of a documentary on his 83-year-old grandmother, a feisty old Lebanese woman, who has outlived all her neighbours in the old neighborhood of Hamad in Beirut.

The documentary, titled Teta, Alf Marra (Grandmother, a 1000 Times) revolves around Hajje Kaabour, who has lived a long and rich life but is now lonely. She rarely leaves her house anymore and often reminisces about the times she spent with her famous violinist husband, Mahmoud Kaabour (Sr.), who passed away 20 years ago.

Filmmaker Kaabour is no newcomer to documentaries. Four years ago, the Lebanese filmmaker made headlines when he produced a documentary entitled Being Osama, a look at how life changed for some Arabs with the name of Osama in Canada post 9/11.

Since then, he has worked on several corporate videos and TVCs, and presently runs Veritas Films, a production house based in twofour54, Abu Dhabi.

Teta, Alf Marra, however, is a more personal journey that makes its filming a lot more challenging, says Kaabour.

“Teta chronicles my grandmother in the minutest details of her everyday life in a flat, where generations have come and gone. We film her hanging her laundry, making a sheesha, and gossiping with other veiled ladies across balconies,” explains Kaabour.

“On a superficial level, she seems to be physically captive in a flat of ancient architecture, outside Beirut’s present. But in the course of our interviews with her, we gradually unravel a much larger world filled with unique routines and memories that invoke loved ones all around her,” he adds.

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As the old lady tells the stories of her husband, Mahmoud Kaabour (Sr.) and his travels to Palestine and Egypt to perform with divas like Umm Koulthoum and Sabah, she also simultaneously shares stories of her grandson, Mahmoud Kaabour (the filmmaker). She talks of his upbringing in the local neighbourhood and his love for cinema that compelled him to move to Canada, where he lived for seven years, before returning to the UAE, where he was raised. The stories of the two men intertwine and at some point, grandfather and grandson merge into a single “Mahmoud” and are accompanied by poetic visuals of the latter playing the former in parts of the B-roll: posing in his room, playing his violin, and sometimes, wearing his old hat.

Grandma Kaabour also breaks the illusions of cinema throughout the film, according to the filmmaker.

“She often talks directly to the camera woman about her beautiful face and stops in between interviews to ask for retakes. While her stories alone recreate an entire city that is now no more, her unabashed Beiruti character often pulls the attention back to herself,” he says.

Grandmother Kaabour is filmed haggling over the price of potatoes with street vendors from her balcony and lifting up her purchase with a basket and a rope. She also has enough clout to get the owner of the aluminum welding store below her house to shut down for an hour whenever she feels like a nap.

What makes the production of this documentary unique is that it is not time bound. As a result, the filmmaker feels there is greater liberty and flexibility to experiment with the documentary genre. 
 

However, dealing with a conservative Arab lady also brought with it several challenges. On the one hand, an all-woman team was required to undertake the shoot.

“On a typical shoot for this film, we have had three people – an all woman crew comprising a lighting assistant, a DoP and a sound engineer,” explains Kaabour.

“I’m working with Muriel Aboulrouss, an award-winning DoP from Lebanon for this film. As a women, she’s able to interact with my conservative grandmother in a very unique way.”

Like most other independent filmmakers, Kaabour has also had to keep his budget low. This meant working with entry level cameras rather than going for high-end options.

“In my opinion, any camera can be used to serve a story,” justifies Kaabour.

“We started with the Sony Z7 because it met the requirements of this shoot. We also have an adapter so we can use digital beta zoom lens on the Z7. This gave us more margins for close-ups and less depth than the usual Z7 lens or video cameras would generally,” explains Kaabour.