Private Project

Marco

Omar has been living in London for a decade. He spends his days working in the City, and his nights ignoring phone calls from his family back in Lebanon. One evening, restless after another pleading voicemail from his mother, he reaches for his phone and invites over Marco, a Spanish student newly-arrived in London, who’s doing sex work to earn some extra cash. But when Marco arrives, Omar can’t shake the feeling that something’s not right about the young man. As their night together progresses truths are revealed, defences are lowered, and Omar discovers the lengths that Marco has gone to in reaching London…

  • Saleem Haddad
    Director
  • Saleem Haddad
    Writer
  • Jack Casey
    Producer
  • Zed Josef
    Key Cast
    "Omar"
  • Marwan Kaabour
    Key Cast
    "Marco"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    drama, LGBT, LGBTQ+, Queer, Gay
  • Runtime:
    22 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    October 18, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    14,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    Arabic, English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Mawjoudin Queer Film Festival
    Tunis
    Tunisia
    March 25, 2019
    World Premiere
  • BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    March 31, 2019
    European Premiere
  • KASHISH Mumbai Queer International Film Festival
    Mumbai
    India
    June 14, 2019
  • Palm Springs International ShortFest
    Palm Springs
    United States
    June 19, 2019
    North American Premiere
  • Malmö Pride
    Malmö
    Denmark
    July 18, 2019
    Scandinavian Premiere
Director Biography - Saleem Haddad

Saleem Haddad's first novel, Guapa, was published in 2016. A political and personal coming-of-age story of a young gay man living through the Arab Spring, the novel received critical acclaim from the Guardian (“explosive... as compelling as it is insightful”), the New Yorker (“a vibrant, wrenching debut”), and others. Described as the ‘Arab Tennessee Williams’, in 2017 Haddad was awarded a Stonewall Honour and won the Polari First Book Prize. He was also selected as one of the top 100 Global Thinkers of 2016 by Foreign Policy Magazine, and as one of ‘five young Arab writers to watch’ by the New York Times. Marco is his directorial debut.

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