Determined to have her first kiss, a young teenage girl defies her tumultuous world in search of normalcy.

Interview with Writer/Producer/Director/Editor Nay Tabbara

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

Thank you! I made Ebb & Flow as a reflection on how my friends and I grew up in Lebanon. I started writing it as my thesis graduation project from the NYU Grad Film program back in the Fall of 2019 when the revolution started in Lebanon. I was in New York City at the time, and it was very challenging to witness the events from afar and not be a part of it all. I was enthralled and overwhelmed by what was going on in the streets in Beirut and the only way to process it all was to write about it. I found myself reflecting on my childhood in Lebanon and the experiences I had growing up there. During the early 2000s, the political situation was very unstable, with recurring bombings and political assassinations taking place. My parents were always worried, but my friends and I managed to navigate the catastrophes and hold on to our childhood. I realized that this is all a characteristic of our cyclical Lebanese identity; not different from how my parents were raised during the civil war, or from what the children and teenagers are living in Lebanon right now. Somehow, our resistance became the fight to keep a sense of normalcy in our lives despite what was going on. I made Ebb & Flow to reflect on these times, possibly heal the traumas we grew up living, and relive them from different perspectives. But I also made this film to show the world a different image of what it means to grow up in the Middle East. We weren’t that different from a child anywhere else in the world.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

The film treats a relatable story in an unrelatable world. Often, the news coming out of the MENA region is about destruction that is shared and talked about so lightly, that it has made everyone desensitized to the pictures that spread on TV and social media. As a consequence, the humanity behind these tragic events is forgotten. Ebb & Flow aims to reclaim that humanity in our stories and give a new perspective on them. It isn’t about destruction, it isn’t a tragedy, and it will not lean into what is expected from a Lebanese film. It will give the audience sweetness, joy, laughter, romance, andinnocence, contrasted against fear, thrill, and tension; taking everyone on Loulwa, the main character’s journey. It will provide a new nuanced understanding of what it means to grow up in a place of turmoil.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

Ebb & Flow tells the story of a first kiss - a milestone adolescent experience. This by itself is an occurrence that feels incredibly personal, but also broadly universal. We all have a different story of how, where, and when we had our first kiss. So I wanted to take this narrative, lean into its universality, but make it authentic and personalized to the environment the characters belong to. To highlight this commonality and contrast, I wanted to push the style of a coming-of-age romcom, and eventually aspire to show that a first kiss in Lebanon, even under the umbrella of political instability, can be very similar to a first kiss of a teenager anywhere else in the world. Hopefully, from this one experience, start the conversation to fight the othering in our stories, and reclaim humanity in them.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

The early drafts of Ebb & Flow were about a personal incident that took place one day when I was in my house hanging out with my best friend, and we heard the news of an assassination that happened. It was the first time I saw my parents unable to hide their fear and worries about the future of the country. But then as I continued writing, I needed to take a slight distance from the character and give her her own experience while still basing it on my friends and my stories. I wanted to explore the different perspectives such an event could have. There was a version of the script where we experienced everything from the mother character’s point of view, and that was mostly because now as an adult I am finally able to understand it. Another version had a more explicit exploration of sexuality. But as I workshopped the script, I wanted to simplify it as much as possible to allow the experience of the main character to come across, without being overshadowed by anything else. Isabelle, the film’s producer, and I also discussed pushing the historical context to one specific moment in the history of Lebanon but then decided it was best to keep it timeless to cater to that cyclical identity and not make it a specific period piece.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

It is such an honor to see how well the film has been received so far, and that our attempt to make such a story relatable to a wide audience has been successful. I am grateful that the feedback I have received is very positive and that audiences so far have connected with the characters deeply. And most importantly, my Lebanese friends, who also had similar experiences, said that the film is screaming out our overshadowed stories of growing up in Lebanon, and praised the authenticity of the world and the narrative. I am grateful to have the opportunity to premiere the film to a wide audience with sold-out screenings at Tribeca Festival and follow it up with several other festivals to hopefully take this story even further.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

We had an internal private screening a few months ago for the team, friends, and collaborators. During that screening, I was asked about the true universality of the film, and if that story can apply to people with different cultural backgrounds whether from the region or not. This question was challenging because I was consistently aspiring to make the most universally relatable story I could make. That was a reminder that not everyone might have the same experience watching the film. But then again, what we ended up discussing during the screening is the specificity in the story; and how even if not every teenager had a similar experience to Loulwa, we can only hope that the nuances of a story told authentically come across and make it resonate.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

I just want to tell a story about the place I grew up in—a place that’s been othered and has been aching for several years now. I hope that through the film, we can start conversations about the dehumanization happening against the region, especially with the current war. I am also hoping the visibility of the film can help trace the next steps for a feature film that I am developing called Summer Plans To Change The World. It is a project of similar themes and tone—adolescence against the backdrop of political instability—currently in early development stages.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

The film’s festivals and audience life have just begun now. To push the film forward we are definitely looking to collaborate with journalists to bring the film to people’s attention, in addition to sales agents that can hopefully help give the film more outlets and more visibility. We’re hoping we can share it with a wider audience, people in different places around the world through festivals and distribution. Eventually, anyone interested in sharing such a story and amplifying the message is an indispensable potential collaborator.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

As I mentioned, I hope Ebb & Flow can change the narrative about the Levantine region and start conversations, creating space for such stories to be heard. I hope my colleagues and I will be able to share the film with a wider audience.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

What was your first kiss like? is a question that I hope people can ask each other to lead into the conversation about the film, comparing the experience of the character to theirs. No matter how serious, the film is still lighthearted, and was developed around such questions and conversations I had with my friends. Maybe such a question can spike these personal conversations, and draw a parallel between the film, teenagers growing up in Lebanon, and audiences everywhere around the world.

Would you like to add anything else?

This film has been such a journey to make, and I cannot but acknowledge all the help I got in making it. Isabelle Mecattaf was an incredible producer and partner on the project. We spent so many days and nights discussing all the logistics of the film, but also sharing stories about how we grew up in Lebanon in the hopes of making the film the most accessible, authentic, and relatable. I also got so much help from my mentors and friends who watched so many cuts of the film and helped shape it beat by beat into what it has become. I cannot but thank them endlessly for believing in the story and offering their support.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

I am currently developing a few projects as we make the festival rounds for Ebb & Flow. One of the films is set in Lebanon, a feature script that is similar in tone and themes to the short—childhood against the backdrop of instability. It is about how the politically manipulated electricity crisis in Lebanon causes a family to dismantle. Another project I’m currently developing is a TV show about a group of artists who plan to start a revolution. Hoping to push these projects forward one step at a time!

Interview: June 2024

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

Ebb & Flow

Determined to have her first kiss, a young teenage girl defies her tumultuous world in search of normalcy.

Length: 18:45

Director: Nay Tabbara

Producer: Isabelle Mecattaf

Writer: Nay Tabbara

About the writer, director and producer:

NAY TABBARA is a Lebanese filmmaker based between Beirut and New York. She is a recent MFA in Filmmaking graduate from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where she also teaches Editing within the Graduate Film department. Before moving to New York, Nay built her on-set experience working as an assistant director on numerous award-winning pictures. Nay’s first short film Frayed Roots premiered at the 2020 Raindance Film Festival.

Key cast: Dona Atallah (Loulwa), Aya Zeaiter (Jana)

Instagram: @naytabbara

Hashtags used: #ebbflowfilm

Website: Nay Tabbara

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?

Tribeca Festival