Gasparilla Film Festival — in partnership with the Global Film Initiative — continues the Global Lens 2008 traveling film series with a presentation of The Kite (Le Cerf-Volant) by award-winning Lebanese filmmaker Randa Chahal-Sabbag. The film examines the cultural and political complications of love and marriage in an area of Lebanon annexed by Israel and sealed by a checkpoint. The story focuses on 16-year-old Lamia, who must cross the Lebanese-Israeli border to marry someone she does not love or even know. Her situation is further complicated when, on her wedding day, she unexpectedly confesses her ardor for the young Israeli soldier who guards the checkpoint. Chahal-Sabbag weaves artful symbolism and political references into her film to make a statement about Israeli-Lebanese relations without becoming preachy and losing sight of the film's core narrative.
The Kite, Fri., June 27, 9 p.m., Studio@620, 620 First Ave. S, St. Petersburg, $8 general admission, $5 for members, 727-895-6620, studio620.org.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2008.