Eme Nakia (2006) Online

This short film is based on the remarkable childhood of Tony Hajjar, one of my generation's most talented musicians. (Drummer for the band Sparta, among other musical projects.) This film focuses on Tony's family and the challenges that they were dealt during his adolescence. At such a vulnerable age, Tony and his family were faced with having to leave their Beirut home during the Lebanese Civil war & then with re-acclimating to a new life in a new country. Having escaped a Civil war, he finds himself in the midst of another kind of battle & is forced to come face to face with loss, but learns how deep the love of a sibling really goes. This movie is profoundly moving and personal, I found myself thinking about it long after it was over. Because Eme Nakia is a true story - to me, it was even more intriguing and powerful. It must have taken great courage and strength for Tony to relive his past, in order to create something so beautiful & true. The word Eme means "Mother" in Arabic & Nakia is the name of Tony's Mother. I cannot think of a more profound way to spend 16 minutes.