Hotel Beirut -- Episodes 1 to 3 (Season 1)

Hotel Beirut is inspired by a true story. The story of Patrick Saad and his family. Ania Jamila and Patrick Saad became very close friends about 12 years ago. They filmed events across the country and, while travelling through Canada, they had the opportunity to tell each other many stories. One of them was Patrick’s story of immigration.
A few years later, Patrick trusted us (Ania & Josiane) to adapt his story into a narrative series. Although we did change and add several elements along the way, Hotel Beirut stays true to the very essence of Patrick’s story. Patrick even read through each episode, and we work together to make any necessary adjustments, to ensure we don’t fall into simplistic stereotypes. Bernard Boulad, a Lebanese writer who immigrated to Canada in the 1980s, has also joined the team to infuse even more authenticity and anecdotes into the story, at the beginning of the writing process.
The magic of Hotel Beirut, for us, is that it somehow it resonates with so many families of immigrants. We are from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Haiti, Chili, Central African Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Japan, Ukraine, French Canada and English Canada and many more. Since this was an interprovincial coproduction between Ontario and Quebec, we were able to blend our cultures, while staying unapologetically unique.
This is the perfect Canadian story in a way!
Also, it's probably why the entire production since the development stages felt like a family affair. We can even reveal that we invited the real Nour and Samir (mom and dad) to play cameo roles as background actors!
As you’ll notice, the aesthetic if very bright, colourful and bold. We wanted this story to be bright and musical, to celebrate the vibrancy of our characters, and not see them as victims. The way we see them, the members of our families, is a mixture of humour, strength and resilience, even when tragedy lurks in the background.
We’re very proud and feel truly privileged to having been able to bring this story to life, as women of colour, devoted to celebrating diversity and unicity from an individual perspective.
We truly hope you’ll enjoy the first 3 episodes of our series and we invite you to read Patrick’s testimonial, he has written for the occasion.
Thank you so much for considering our series project for a selection in your festival!
** Ania & Josiane **
PATRICK'S TESTIMONY
“I spent the better part of my life in Quebec, but my story began in Lebanon. My parents never would have thought they would one day leave their native country, or that they would have to start over again, with three young children in tow. They were never ones to give up. The civil war lasted years; my parents lost a lot, and they had to rebuild their lives more than once.
I was just five years old when a bomb exploded in the entrance of our building in Beirut. I still clearly remember that horrible night. The alarm started ringing, and we went down to the basement with our pillows, playing cards, and our favourite board games. Like we always did when it got too loud. For us, this was routine, as though we were having a perpetual fire drill. To me, the loudness seemed as though people were partying too hard. I would always tell my parents to keep quiet or someone might hear us. But who listens to a five-year-old? Suddenly, a loud noise erupted, shaking our building. Everyone finally stopped talking. I was the one who broke the silence: “I told you they would hear us.” My parents saw the trauma through my tears. That’s when they decided to leave Lebanon.
Deciding to leave was easy. Actually leaving the country and starting over on a new continent, however, was much harder. Our journey lasted several months. My father took the first trip to Quebec alone. He had been told that entering the country would be easy, and that there would be several work opportunities there. And it would be peaceful.
My mother, sister, brother, and I travelled to Cyprus by boat at night to avoid the daytime bombings. We then flew to the United States. My uncle was there waiting for us, and he drove us to Canada.
Family and community have always been very important to me. It is thanks to my family and the welcoming people of Quebec that we were able to have a better life in Canada. My parents then opened their door to family and strangers alike, helping them set up and adjust to life in Quebec. There were always so many people in our home; finding pictures of just the five of us was next to impossible.
Nowadays, we hear so many stories of families fleeing economic instability, or even war. We hear of their despair, after being moved by force. We rarely, however, hear nice stories of mutual help in the community and the host country. Lebanese people and all Canadians should watch this series, because Hôtel Beyrouth is inspired by true events, and it is proof that immigration is a rich, moving story written by the immigrants themselves and those who welcome them.”
- Patrick Saad