Experiencing Interruptions?

Second Wind

Few stories ever emerge out of Lebanon’s notorious prison system, let alone stories about the difficulties of starting a new life after prison. Four ex-prisoners living in a rehabilitation center in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon share their personal stories and perspectives on how the experience of prison and the criminal record system shaped their lives, and how far they’re willing to go to be given a chance to a new start.

  • Nessim Stevenson
    Director
    George & The Whales
  • Tariq Keblaoui
    Director
    Al Hmar, Holmgäng
  • What Took You So Long?
    Produced by
  • Search For Common Ground
    Funded by
  • The German Federal Foreign Office
    Funded by
  • Julia Sabra
    Original Soundtrack
  • Fadi Tabbal
    Original Soundtrack
  • Fadi Tabbal
    Sound Design
  • Tariq Keblaoui
    Editing
  • Aiman Yahyaa Jabayee
    Color Grade
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    سطر جديد
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    26 minutes 15 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 29, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    18,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Lebanon
  • Country of Filming:
    Lebanon
  • Language:
    Arabic
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Lebanese Independent Film Festival
    Beirut
    Lebanon
    September 25, 2021
    Lebanese Premiere
    Best Local Short Documentary
Director Biography - Nessim Stevenson, Tariq Keblaoui

– Nessim Stevenson –
Nessim is a Lebanese-British filmmaker and photographer with experience working as a producer, director, camera operator, and editor in over 30 countries across 6 continents on a range of subjects such as environmental conservation, education, and global health. For the past five years, he has worked alongside What Took You So Long, a production company that specializes in producing content for NGOs, development organizations, and ethical companies. His expertise lies in breaking down complex topics into aesthetic, nuanced, and human-centric stories.

He was the DoP of the award-winning documentary web-series Waynak, which told positive solutions to the 2016 refugee crisis, and was the director and editor of George & the Whales, a short documentary portrait of George, a young Tongan whale guide and the humpback whales he swims with. Most recently he co-directed Second Wind, a short documentary about the rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-prison inmates in Lebanon, told through the eyes of a group of ex-prisoners living in a rehabilitation center in the town of Zahle.

– Tariq Keblaoui –

Tariq Keblaoui is a Lebanese Director with a technical background in editing and cinematography.

After graduating as Filmmaker of the Year from Central Film School London, he moved back to Lebanon to direct his short film, Al Hmar, and work in the fields of fiction filmmaking, video journalism, and documentary making.

He is currently based in Beirut, Lebanon, working as a CNN camera operator, animation and video editor at Megaphone, and founder and director of Donkey Productions– having directed and produced several music videos, fashion videos, and short-form documentaries on the occurrences of the Lebanese uprising of October 2019 up until the August 4th Beirut Blast. He has co-directed Second Wind, a short documentary on ex-prisoners, and is currently working towards directing and producing his first feature film.

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Director Statement

We made this documentary as a collaboration with Search For Common Ground to shed light on the subject of the prison system in Lebanon and to highlight the importance of rehabilitation and reintegration post-prison.

It is commonly known to us in Lebanon just how under-resourced and inhumane the prison conditions and system are in the country. What is much less talked about is the conditions and experiences that lead people to prison in the first place, and the reality they are faced with upon leaving it. We realized that the only way to understand this would be to find ex-prisoners willing to share their stories with us. We were lucky enough to find four exceptionally engaging and well-spoken participants willing to talk to us about their journey and show us just how much one can change when given the chance and the support.