The Story Behind the Story

On July 31st, 2012, Khalil's family crossed the Syrian Border into Lebanon to flee the armed conflict in their country. My mother gave them refuge at our summer property in Ghazzeh, in the Lebanese countryside. That is where I met Khalil (12 years) who would later change the course of this project, and therefore, my life.

But the journey of this film started much before the arrival of Khalil's family to Lebanon, and before the Syrian Crisis altogether.

It began in 2010 as an attempt to fill memory blanks pertaining to my childhood during the civil war in Beirut. I was searching for "nice memories" during the period between 1980 and 1989, which seem to have vanished from my memory.

What We Need from You

All principal filming on this project is now complete and we have captured some precious moments.

To arrive to this point, I've used up my own resources, my family, friends and friends of friends. The urgency, intuitiveness and unfolding of the story on a day-to-day basis obliged me to focus on shooting the film rather than file applications for production support and/or wait for financial backing from film funds or institutions (the classic route).

We now need your support to raise a minimum of 35,000 USD for this project. These funds will cover part of our late production / early post production process and help us edit some scenes or create a work in progress. Once we have that work in progress, we can then use it to apply for more funding from regional and international film bodies.

You can support us in many ways. One of them is donating to our campaign and choosing one of our specially designed and customized rewards. Another important way to help us is to share this campaign with other people and spread the word about it to your friends and networks or write about it on your blog. 

What We Offer in Return

We've been preparing for this campaign since August 2013 and have thought carefully of the perks we wish to send out to thank you for your support.

Here is a glimpse into some of them:

A handwritten "Thank you" on your choice of postcard will come your way, when you pledge $25.

Pamper yourself or your guests with two of these beautiful, hand-embroidered towels when you pledge $100.

Add to your ethnic collection; a handmade copper coffee pot and two cups for your pledge of $250

The Team

Producer/Director Niam Itani

I am a Lebanese filmmaker born and raised in Beirut and Ghazzeh -a village in the Lebanese Bekaa Valley. I completed a BA in Communication Arts, an MA in Education from the Lebanese American University in Beirut and an MFA in Screenwriting from Hollins University in Virginia, USA.

I made my first professional documentary in 2001 for a conference at my undergrad school. It was a short film entitled "Ghareeb" (Stranger).  In 2005 I completed a second short documentary, "Zakira Mubsira" (A Foretold Memory). Between 2005 and 2010, I got the chance to expand my documentary skills while working at Aljazeera Channel in Qatar as a Programs Producer.  At Aljazeera I worked as assistant producer on the critically acclaimed series of "Al Nakba" with veteran producer Rawan Al Damen and went on to make my first feature documentary, "Rokam Al-Bared" (Ruins of Al-Bared).  

In January 2013, I co-founded placeless films llc., a film production company in Beirut, Lebanon.  As part of placeless films, we also recently launched ScriptExperts, a specialized story & script service catering primarily to writers and filmmakers in the Middle east.

"Twice Upon a Time" is the first documentary I am making since I re-launched my independent career in 2010. The previous film I made, "Super.Full." (2010), played several film festivals including two Academy Award Qualifying festivals and the Biennale Di Venezia (Venice Film Festival) in Italy.

My feature narrative project entitled "Shadow of a Man", is currently in pre-production and has been selected at multiple regional and international film venues such as Med Film Factory, Doha Projects Market, AFAC Production Grant, Produire au Sud, Carthage Producers Network, among others.

Other members in the production team on "Twice Upon a Time" include my cousin Ibrahim Shehab, a filmmaker, and my sister Bayan Itani, a journalist and researcher. Ibrahim and Bayan often left their busy lives in Beirut and joined me in Ghazzeh to operate camera and sound equipment, assist with food and transportation logistics, and occasionally conduct interviews or deal with complicated situations - like the villagers suspecting us of being spies.

Khalil was a valuable member of our team throughout the shoot. He filmed over three hours of material that only he could have access to and showed impressive skills behind the camera.

Lots of other people helped us complete filming this project and presenting it to you here on Indiegogo in its current shape.

This list includes my mother Basyma Shehab and Khalil's mother & family, Music Composer Suad Saher Bushnaq, Graphic Designer Layan Aziz, and my friends and partners in crime Lara Abou Saifan, Manal Farhat, Hanaa Houri, Megan Kappel, Vidya Santhanam, Asia Shamseddine, Sound Engineer Victor Bresse, and my cousin Mahmoud Itani. 

Thank you to the people who gave us feedback along the way to make this presentation look the way it does: Erica Ginsberg, Sarah George, Ellen Brodsky, Fatma Naib, Elie Chalhoub, Anna Fahr, Nadia Tabbara, Juana Khandjian, Suryam Champati and always my sisters.

Send us an email at:  twiceuponatime@placelessfilms.com