EXCLUSIVE: The films Mare Nostrum and The Translator by Syrian filmmakers Anas Khalaf and Rana Kazkaz are among the few fictional works that delve into Syria’s 2011 pro-democracy uprisings and the subsequent harsh repression by President Bashar al-Assad over a span of 14 years.
In their poignant short film Mare Nostrum (2020), the directorial duo uses allegory to address the Mediterranean migrant crisis, which escalated as a result of the conflict. The film features Ziad Bakri as a distressed father who mysteriously tosses his young daughter into the ocean.
Their political thriller, The Translator (2020), captures the onset of the revolution and the long-standing oppression leading up to it through the story of a political asylum seeker in Australia who goes back to Syria to find his brother, who has been detained for participating in protests.
Khalaf is currently finalizing his latest project, a Beirut and Bekaa Valley-set tennis-themed narrative film titled Love-45. He has been discussing this project with potential producers and distributors at the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra event, which supports emerging filmmakers and projects.
The storyline centers on Walid, an overweight Lebanese man battling unresolved childhood trauma that has led him down a path of self-destruction. His journey towards redemption begins when he is enlisted to help establish a tennis camp for Syrian refugee children suffering from wartime traumas.
This mission introduces Walid to transformative relationships with Maya, a French humanitarian worker, and Laith, a 12-year-old Syrian refugee and a tennis prodigy.
“Walid takes Laith under his wing, caring for him and shaping him into the tennis star he himself never became,” Khalaf explains. “It’s a narrative about passing on knowledge, healing, and breaking the cycle of trauma.”
“The Translator was bleak and despairing. Love-45 is filled with hope and light. I intend for it to represent the opposite end of the spectrum. By the end of Love-45, I want viewers to feel inspired to love, to make love, and to play tennis,” he adds.
Khalaf draws from his own life for this film, incorporating his love for tennis, his complex relationship with food, and his personal experiences with trauma, having moved between Syria and France as a child due to political instability.
He and Kazkaz, who is focusing on her own film project and will not be co-directing this time, co-wrote the screenplay in 2021. Adjustments were made post-Assad’s fall to reflect the new realities facing refugees.
“European countries no longer welcome Syrian refugees like before. They’ve halted processing applications with the rationale that, with Assad gone, the threat no longer exists and refugees can return to Syria. It’s not the safest time to return, but it’s safer than under Assad,” Khalaf comments, noting that this change has been integrated into the script, adding a sense of urgency for Laith who was about to join his family in France.
The film is being produced by Marine Vaillant of Paris and Marseille-based Special Touch Studios, known for their award-winning projects Les Chenilles and Somewhere in Between.
Casting includes Swiss actress and director Laetitia Dosch as Maya and Lebanese, Paris-based actor and tennis player Charif Ghattas as Walid. Laith will be portrayed by a newcomer who is not a professional actor.
“We opted to cast a young tennis player and teach him acting, rather than the other way around, to ensure authenticity in the tennis scenes,” Khalaf explains. “He happens to be the son of my former tennis coach, who also coached Syria’s Davis Cup team.”
The narrative will feature significant tennis action interwoven with off-court drama, and will frequently reference tennis legend Roger Federer and his philosophies on focus, resilience, and moving past failures.
“Roger Federer’s influence permeates the story. We hope to involve him in some capacity,” mentions Khalaf.
The project has garnered support from various production partners and backers, including UK-based Cocoon Films and Switzerland’s Tipimages Production, and discussions are ongoing to bring on additional partners from Luxembourg or Belgium.
“There’s significant interest in this film because it offers a fresh and hopeful perspective, which is rare in films from Syria and Lebanon. We aim to entertain and provoke thought simultaneously,” says Vaillant.
Khalaf and Kazkaz, who left Damascus in 2012 due to escalating conflict, are committed to contributing to the rebuilding of Syria. Khalaf briefly returned to Syria following Assad’s fall and is passionate about participating in the country’s renewal.
Looking ahead, Khalaf continues to develop other projects including The Photographer, about the whistleblower Farid Nada al-Madhhan, and The Trainer, based on the story of Syrian soccer coach Osama Abdul Mohsen. He is also working on a TV series titled The Syrian Doctor.
The team plans to commence filming Love-45 in Lebanon in early 2026, pending favorable political conditions. “We will assess the situation closer to pre-production,” Vaillant concludes.
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