Private Project

I'll call you in a few

During his night shift break, Karim, a suicide hotline operator, is in the toilet talking to his best friend Nour who is having a breakdown over the phone. As the break ends the hotline
phone starts ringing. Karim goes back to his desk telling Nour that he must answer the call. Nour hangs up pissed off where Karim answers the other phone call. Yet he tries to stay connected to Nour by sending him several unanswered messages. Eventually he receives a message from a common friend that Nour got into an accident. Shocked and devastated Karim leaves the call rushing to the toilet with a surging breakdown taking over.

  • Carmen Sarieddine
    Director
  • Carmen Sarieddine
    Writer
  • Carmen Sarieddine
    Producer
  • Rashad Nasreddine
    Key Cast
    "Karim"
  • Nour Almoujabber
    Key Cast
    "Jad"
  • William Ockeili
    Assistant Director
  • Taline Bedikian
    Cinematographer
  • Pia Maria Khoury
    Focus Puller
  • Cynthia Tannous
    Art Director
  • Stephano Rouhana
    Sound Engineer
  • Hadi Fatayri
    Gaffer
  • Anita Mourani
    Assistant Camera
  • JohnPaul Jalwan
    Music and sound design
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 30 seconds
  • Country of Origin:
    Lebanon
  • Country of Filming:
    Lebanon
  • Language:
    Arabic
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Antonine University
Director Biography - Carmen Sarieddine

At the age of 22, Carmen Sarieddine is an activist in the mental health awakening.
She is pursuing her goals by filming and documenting topics, events and documentaries related to the well-being and mental health of young people in Lebanon.
Born in Mount of Lebanon, Carmen developed her passion for documenting and filming humans’ stories. She always had the curiosity to know what happens behind the scenes and how films were created.
In her second year, Carmen filmed her first film essay “سوداء غيمة.“This is when she realized her passion for storytelling and filming documentaries.
After a battle with mental illness, Carmen decided to write her senior film about a phone operator working in a suicide hotline.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I have travelled the road of mental illness for long enough in my life, with all its bumps,
ups and downs. But I know that I am not alone in this journey and that many like me have
specifically experienced and are still experiencing anxiety and depression.
Going back in time, I was someone who cares about others more than herself.
If my friend were overwhelmed, I would leave everything just to help them, even if I was
busy or not feeling well. I was the “psychologist” friend, always ready to listen and help.
Later, I started losing friends for no reason; they just disappeared from my life. This is
where I realized that I have my own mental health that I should focus on and take care of.
In February 2020, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, which is excessive
and exaggerated anxiety and worry about everyday life events for no obvious reason.
People with symptoms of GAD tend to always expect disaster and cannot stop worrying
about health, money, family, work, or school.
The economic crisis in Lebanon and the global pandemic made my mental health
deteriorate. I stopped feeling, couldn’t find a reason to wake up every day. I slept all day,
skipped classes, canceled meetings…
When I started having suicidal thoughts, I called Embrace, the suicide hotline in Lebanon.
They were helpful, but I always felt that there was something missing, that the only one
who can help me is myself.
I was thinking about those phone operators, their feelings and their mental health, and
this is when I got the idea to write this film.
This film is a warning sign on the road to stop and take time to check on oneself, as well
as on others. This is what I wanted my main character Karim, a phone operator working
in a suicide hotline, to experience.
Being everything for everyone is impossible! Being everywhere is impossible, there are
limitations to what we can do as human beings and we must acknowledge them. The
feeling of guilt after not being able to help all people is toxic because it makes us forget to
help ourselves. The conflict that Karim is living in the film happens with all of us. Choosing
is always hard and this is where life leaves us trapped with our feelings and thoughts.