Filming Under Siege
- Time
- Feb 16th 2026
- Location
- Radialsystem / Halle
- Guests
- Rana Eid, Abdallah Alkhatib, Talal Khoury
In his feature fiction debut "Chronicles from the Siege", filmmaker Abdallah Alkhatib draws directly from his own lived experience having endured the siege of the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria, to pen different stories of citizens trapped under the bombs. In this talk, the filmmaker reflects on creating this petrifying environment with two of his main collaborators, Rana Eid, designer of an unnerving sound score, and Talal Khoury, behind the intricate, documentary-style camera work. The three address a relationship built on trust, to help understand the needs of the project, but also the current political state of their region, which has directly influenced some of their artistic and technical choices.
Rana Eid
Rana Eid was born in 1976 in Beirut. She has graduated with a BA in Cinema and a Masters of Arts in Film Sound both from IESAV in 1999.
In 2006, Eid has opened DB STUDIOS for audio post production with composer Nadim Mishlawi, collaborating with a number of acclaimed Lebanese filmmakers. Since then she is working on films from the region and the world, teaming up with established filmmakers as well as emerging talents.
She is a member in the Sound Section in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science and of the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE).
Abdallah Alkhatib
The Palestinian-Syrian filmmaker studied sociology at the University of Damascus and worked as a human rights activist. He currently lives and works in Germany where he is continuing his studies in social sciences alongside his work as a filmmaker. After making his documentary, Little Palestine, in 2021, Chronicles from the Siege is his debut feature film.
Talal Khoury
Talal Khoury is a Lebanese award-winning cinematographer, based in Paris since 2020, working across fiction and documentary. His films have screened at major international festivals including Berlinale, Visions du Réel, IDFA, Rotterdam, Venice Biennale, and the Dubai International Film Festival.
His work includes Veins of the World by Byambaa Davaa, winner of the German Film Award for Best Children’s Film and Best Cinematography at Real to Reel, and Taste of Cement by Ziad Kalthoum, which received over 35 international awards worldwide, including two for cinematography. He has also collaborated with directors such as Rana Eid (Panoptic), Sky Fitzgerald, Frank Scheffer, Mazen Khaled, and Karim Kassem.
Khoury’s approach is driven by the search for the soul of each project. He sees composition and light as the subconscious of the story, and the creation of a film’s visual language as the essence of his cinematography.