Wissam Charaf: It's All in Lebanon
Born in Lebanon in 1973, Wissam is a Lebanese/French director and journalist based in Paris. After 3 years working with pirate radio in Beirut, in the midst of the Lebanese war, he turned legit and took jobs as a video editor with several Lebanese television networks.
In 1998, he moved to Paris where he worked with the French/German network ARTE, as a news cameraman, editor andjournalist covering conflicts in Lebanon, Darfour, Afghanistan, and North Korea. On the lighter, more creative side, he worked as an assistant director on music videos for artists such as Sinead O’Connor, Asian Dub Foundation and Noir Desir, as well as on feature films and documentaries
In 2004, he directed his first short, Hizz Ya Wizz, about the boredom of a young man in a modern city. In 2006, while covering the Israeli agression on Lebanon, he filmed his second short, A Hero Never Dies, about the endless waiting of a young artist during wartime. This was followed in 2007, by An Army of Ants about three young men on their quest for a Kalashnikov. The film competed at the Locarno Film Festival and won the Jury prize at the Lunel Film Festival in France.
Today, he is the Beirut correspondant for ARTE and is preparing his first full-length feature film Fallen From the Sky.