Private Project

Platoon Seven

After the catastrophic explosion that devastated Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, on August 4th, 2020, families of Platoon Seven struggle with accepting the death of their loved ones, moving on, and most of all, finding justice.

  • Emilio Mounsef
    Director
  • Emilio Mounsef
    Writer
  • Jennifer Harran
    Producer
  • Bahjat Salem
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Genres:
    Drama, Investigative, Political, Human Rights
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 33 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 30, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    7,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Lebanon
  • Language:
    Arabic
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.66:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • AIU Kuwait International Film Festival

    Kuwait
    November 16, 2024
    Middle Eastern
    Best Arab Feature Documentary
  • Lebanese International Film Festival
    Beirut
    Lebanon
    February 12, 2025
    Lebanese
    Lebanese Expat Award
  • Lebanese Film Festival Canada
    Montreal
    Canada
    June 4, 2024
    North American
    Official Selection
  • Montreal International Film Festival
    Montreal
    Canada
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Emilio Mounsef

Emilio Mounsef is an independent fiction and documentary filmmaker who graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Arts in TV and Film from the Lebanese American University in 2019. Emilio has had a deep passion for directing films and series ever since he was 14 years old and he is interested in directing fictional drama more than any other genre. He has worked on several Films and Television sets in Lebanon as a first and second assistant director, and as a production manager and coordinator, working with various renowned Arab directors and producers. Emilio has written and directed three short films all of which have been picked up by several festivals around the world. He is currently distributing his latest feature documentary and is currently based in Toronto, after completing an MFA in Documentary Media at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I survived the August 4th explosion. It was one of the worst days of my life. I have been following the story of Platoon Seven since the night of August 4th when it was announced that they were all either missing or dead. The devastation of their families broke my heart. William Noun and Karlen Hitti, the main characters of this film, have been leading the battle for justice ever since. As a filmmaker, I knew that there needed to be a film made about these firefighters and their families because I've always felt that in Lebanon, we have a habit of forgetting and erasing history and moving on. I did not want these firefighters, their families, and August 4th to be forgotten. I reached out to William and Karlen while in pre-production in Toronto and pitched this film to them. I wanted this film to be a collaboration between myself and these families. This film is their film. I believe in the power of cinema. We will all leave this earth one day but films live on forever. There isn’t a day that I don’t remember August 4th and I think about the disaster that changed my life and thousands of lives forever. I returned to Beirut almost two years after the August 4th explosion to tell a story that cannot be forgotten. A story that is difficult to describe without reliving every second of it. I returned to Beirut to tell the story of Platoon Seven.