THE BLUE INMATES
FEATURE FILMS COMPETITION

THE BLUE INMATES
LEBANON
DOCUMENTARY
- Duration : 74 Minutes
- Genre : Documentary
- Director : Zeina Daccache
- Production : Catharsis - Lebanese Center for Drama Therapy
Synopsis
From Lebanon’s notoriously tough Roumieh prison, Daccache’s third film emerges shedding the light on inmates suffering from mental illness and facing a life sentence in prison. Indeed, the Lebanese penal code states that “Insane”, “Mad” & “Possessed” offenders should be incarcerated until evidence of “being cured” (whereas “mental illness” can be managed with proper treatment and not “cured” and in Lebanese prisons psychological and medical care for these inmates are absent). In the film, Daccache involves “regular” inmates to represent in a theatre production the stories of the inmates suffering from mental illness and convey their messages to the outside world and decision makers hopefully changing the status of these forgotten behind bars – and preventing a similar “life sentence” fate for future inmates.

Director's bio
Zeina Daccache is the founder and Executive Director of Catharsis – Lebanese Center for Drama Therapy. She works as drama therapist in
prisons, rehabilitation centers, etc. Her internationally award winning films (12 Angry Lebanese & Scheherazade’s Diary) amended several laws in Lebanon. She is the recipient of many awards given for her distinguished contributions to the field of social initiatives and services.