Rakan Mayasi
YESTERDAY THE EYE DIDN’T SLEEP
In a valley veiled by fog and tribal codes, two sisters walk into the night not as daughters, but as offerings — where blood, memory, and silence attempt to keep the fire from spreading.
SYNOPSIS
In the quiet fog of the Bekaa Valley, someone sets fire to a truck, and with it, a spark of trouble spreads through a tightly woven community. Gamra is gone—maybe hiding, maybe running—and her cousin Yaser takes to the roads to find her. The deeper he looks, the more he runs into ghosts, old grudges, and the slow, burning logic of revenge. Back home, his sisters, Jawaher and Reem, are chosen to make things right. They're not asked—they're offered. One is calm, the other resisting, but both know how quickly girls can be traded for peace. The days pass. Wood is cut. Wool is washed. Eyes are cast downward. And yet, everything shifts beneath the surface: a secret song, a nervous goodbye, a lipstick smudge in the dark. This is a story about what happens in the quiet—between fields, behind curtains, inside vans. It’s about women who carry too much, men who speak in codes, and a land that holds its breath, waiting for something to end… or begin.
DIRECTOR
Rakan Mayasi
PRODUCER
Rakan Mayasi, Jennifer Ritter
WRITER
Rakan Mayasi
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Atata
COUNTRY
Belgium, Palestine, Lebanon
GENRE
Fiction
Rakan Mayasi
RAKAN MAYASI is an independent filmmaker (Director, Screenwriter & Producer) from Palestine (diaspora), born in Germany and currently based between Bruxelles and Beirut. He studied Cinema, Theatre and Psychology in Lebanon and then received film training with Abbas Kiarostami in South Korea at the Asian Film Academy. He has an MA in Filmmaking from LUCA School of Arts in Belgium. He has written, directed and produced several short films. His previous film ROUBAMA was an official selection at the Locarno Film Festival in 2012. His short film BONBONÉ (acquired by Netflix worldwide) tackles the phenomenon of Palestinian sperm smuggling from Israeli jails and has world premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017 - it is the recipient of 35 Best Short Awards at international film festivals, namely Küstendorf Film and Music Festival and the 40th Moscow International Film Festival. Rakan recently underwent film training with Béla Tarr in Budapest where he conceived a film in 7 days, KÉS. TRUMPETS IN THE SKY is a short film exploring Cinema as a contemplative medium of visual poetry, metaphor and mythology. It won the honorable mention for Best International Short Film at TIFF 2021 in Canada, where it world premiered (acquired by France 3). Rakan’s latest short film is a political fantasy-thriller entitled THE KEY that is centred around the Palestinian right of return. It world premiered at SXSW Film Festival in Austin, USA 2023 (acquired by Canal+ internationale). Rakan just wrapped his first feature film shot entirely in the Bekaa Valley with non-professional actors and without a script. It follows a family triangle searching for a missing girl, focusing on space, time, metaphor and poetry. His second feature film project THE PASSPORT has been selected to participate at La Fabrique at Cannes Film Festival 2025.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
My Grandmother always told me about her story of being forced to get married at age 14. And it had always touched me since I was a child. How unfair could life really be? In the Bekaa Valley, I want to explore these tribal traditions on the ground as they still run. Having deconstructed prejudices and stereotypes, I wish to continue to observe with an intimate gaze, focusing on the rural rhythm of life with an intimate proximity to nature. I am interested in the neo-realist approach to filmmaking. For me, in this cinematic process, where the filming equipment cannot be larger than the artists, bends narratives and creates a hybrid of fiction-nonfiction. I do not want to feel constrained by the size of the machines, as that would prevent me from blending into the community and being a part of it. I am interested in a sensitive/romantic aesthetic that captures reality with honesty annd minimal intrusion.
Jennifer Ritter
JENNIFER RITTER Born in Germany and raised in Belgium in a multilingual environment, I have always been keen to explore different cultures and countries. After one year of school exchange in Argentina, I decided to study German and Arabic Literature in Brussels. This background brought me to Syria, where I worked in the Tourism industry for two years. Back to Belgium in 2010, I completed a Master’s degree in Cooperation and development studies and started working in the Cinema Industry for the Euromed Audiovisual Programme of the European Commission and carried on the cinema path joining the team of a Belgian production company for more than nine years. Seeking for freedom and new challenges, I founded my own production company, Atata, in 2023. Since then I have been developing a few projects (short, feature, documentary and animation) and I am enjoying being a production manager on Belgian sets for other production companies!
Production company profile
Atata is a Belgian production company founded in 2023, driven by the desire to produce films that explore diverse narrative, aesthetic, genre, and format territories. We are passionate about stories—whether real or imaginary—that highlight powerful, sensitive, and daring characters. Each story we carry aims to surprise, move, and offer a unique experience.
Where are we at?
TOTAL ESTIMATED BUDGET
383 091 €
NEEDED FOR COMPLETION
100.000 €
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