The Blue Inmates by Zeina Daccache

From Lebanon’s notorious Roumieh prison, Daccache’s film sheds light on inmates suffering from mental illness and facing a life sentence in prison.
The Lebanese penal code states that ‘insane’, ‘mad’ and ‘possessed’ offenders should be incarcerated until there is evidence that they have ‘been cured’ however, mental illness can be managed with proper treatment and not ‘cured’. Psychological and medical care are absent from Lebanese prisons today.
In this film, Daccache involves ‘regular’ inmates to represent, in a theatre production the stories of the inmates suffering from mental illness and to convey their messages to the outside world and decision-makers with the hope of changing the status of these forgotten prisoners – and by preventing a similar ‘life sentence’ fate for future inmates.

Zeina Daccache is a Lebanese actress, theatre and film director and drama therapist.
She worked as a television actress from 2003 to 2015.
She is the founder and executive director of ‘Catharsis - Lebanese Center for Drama Therapy’ and works as a drama therapist in prisons and rehabilitation centres.
Through her work, several laws in Lebanon have been amended.
Daccache is the recipient of many awards as a result of her distinguished contributions to social initiatives and service.

This screening is in collaboration with Jerusalem Arab Film Festival.

2021, 75 minutes
Arabic with English subtitles