Six Lebanese women, different ages, await the return of their sons, brothers, husbands or lovers, who have been missing since the Civil War. VOID depicts the events that take place on the eve of the Beirut Parliament Square sit-in, where the women petition to renew the cases of their missing men. The lives of these women revolve around waiting for the men in their lives. A wait filled with uncertainty, and hope.

Void is a rare film about the plight of the disappeared during Lebanon's Civil War that raged from 1975 to 1990, and more crucially, the aftermath and the impact on their closed ones and the wider society, which has had to grapple with this reality for the following decades. In fact, the Arabic title is "Waynon", which means "where are they?" The stories are nuanced and engaging, carefully avoiding falling into cliches, neither condemning nor lionesing the real people at the heart of this.

The film was written by Georges Khabbaz and directed by seven graduates from Notre Dame University outside of Beirut. The directors were Naji Bechara, Jad Beyrouthy, Zeina Makki, Tarek Korkomaz, Christelle Ighniades, Maria Abdel Karim and Salim Habr. Khabbaz also was the scriptwriter for Lebanon’s Oscar submission, Ghadi, and starred in 2007’s Venice and Sundance festival entry Under the Bombs. Void won the Best Screenplay award at the Malmo Arab Film Festival in Sweden and the Jury Special Prize at the Alexandria Film Festival for Mediterranean Countries.

Diamand Bou Abboud, who won a number of awards for her stellar performance, also stars in Arze, whose UK premiere is screening as part of this season.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with writer Georges Khabbaz and director Maria Abdul Karim. Tickets will include a glass of Lebanese wine or a soft drink alternative.

The film is part of the Beirut Film Society's first edition of Lebanon Cinema Days in the UK, which shines a spotlight on the powerful voices of Lebanese cinema, presenting a curated selection of films by a new generation of filmmakers.

This festival is presented by Beirut Film Society, an organization committed to using cinema as a platform for dialogue, social impact, and cultural diplomacy. One of the Beirut Film Society’s core missions is to reconnect with the Lebanese diaspora and to promote Lebanese creative expression on the international stage — fostering cultural bridges between Lebanon and the world.