About 55 days before the announcement of the "Oscars", the Beirut Documentary Film Festival is celebrating "The Man Who Sold His Back", by Tunisian director Kawthar Ben Hania, which is competing for the "Oscar" for best international film.

 

The film stars the Syrian Yahya Mahaini, the French Dia Lien, the Belgian Quinn de Boe and the Italian Monica Bellucci, and participated in several film festivals before Tunisia nominated him to represent her in the "Oscar" race.

 

The film deals with the story of a Syrian young man who escapes from the city of Raqqa to Lebanon with the aim of finally reaching Europe to catch up with his lover, but during this trip he meets an American artist who offers him a deal whereby the young man offers his back to the artist to paint on him, in exchange for the latter to help him reach his destination.

 

With the passage of time, the Syrian young man realizes the price of the deal after the artist asks him to sit for hours inside museums bare back without talking to anyone or interacting with his surroundings until he turns into a static piece of art.

 

The Beirut Documentary Film Festival displayed the film virtually on its website, with the participation of a large number of journalists and thousands of viewers. A discussion of the film was also held on the "Zoom" platform with the director of the work.