EXCLUSIVE: BUFF Studios has acquired UK distribution rights to Tina Gharavi’s Shadows of Beirut and will present the film at this year’s Cannes market.

Quantify Sales is handling international sales on the title, which Gharavi directed from a screenplay that she wrote with Tala Calil. Starring Calil, Assaad Bouab, Flavia Bechara and Michael E. Rodgers, the film follows a young woman who returns to Beirut after 25 years of estrangement from her dying father.

The official synopsis reads: “As she navigates the emotional tension between forgiveness and unresolved trauma, she reconnects with her homeland through the people and places that shaped her past.”

Yariv Lerner, Tala Calil, Rob Van Norden, and Pia Patatian produced the film, with Paula Crickard serving as Executive Producer.

“We made this incredible film during lockdown and had to duck and dive to bring it to life across Beirut and Bulgaria during a very challenging period,” Gharavi said in a statement. “At a time when the world was thinking deeply about separation and connection, this film explored what it truly means to know a person or a place.”

Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe, Head of Global Theatrical Distribution at BUFF Studios, added: “Shadows of Beirut represents exactly the kind of internationally resonant storytelling BUFF Studios is focused on bringing to audiences through our UK theatrical slate. Cannes is the first step in introducing the film to global partners as we move into its sales and distribution phase.”