Watch Over Me
Synopsis
In the quiet shelter of a suburban neighbourhood, an unsuspecting child becomes burdened with keeping a secret that will condemn her to a life of adversity.
Film details
- Year
- 2018
- Runtime
- 00:05:10
- Genre
- Drama
- Country
- Cyprus
- Language
- English
- Subtitles
- English, Español, Português, Français, العربية, 中文（简体）
Filmmaker's Note
Monsters are often closer to home. Roughly 90 percent of child sexual abuse cases are by someone who is known to the family or child. Often parents of victims do not encourage an open dialogue with their children and fail to pay attention to the nuances and signs, resulting in the likelihood of continued abuse for the unforeseeable future. In a 5 minute and 11 second film, through carefully placed dialogue, bits of information are slowly revealed, while using the elements of sound, colour, camera movement and framing to help draw the audience into the little girls emotional and psychological experience. In Cyprus and the Middle East child abuse is still a taboo subject, and even though it continues in large numbers it is not openly discussed, and children are not given the support to come forward. Any child could be a victim and I felt it very important to shine a light, no matter how small, but strong enough to hopefully get people and more importantly parents talking.
Credits
Director
- Leah Kayaleh
Writers
- Leah Kayaleh
- Rani Kayaleh
Producers
- Leah Kayaleh
- Stelana Kliris
About the filmmaker
By Leah Kayaleh
Lebanese filmmaker Leah Kayaleh graduated with a BA in Communication Studies, specialising in Filmmaking from Concordia University Canada and an MA in Filmmaking, specialising in Directing, from Goldsmiths University, UK. Upon graduating she entered the world of TV and corporate video production, starting as an intern in The Walt Disney Company in London, moving to Senior Production Coordinator in a boutique production house, to a Promo Producer (making TV trailers) for MBC in Dubai, making history as the first female promotions producer in an all male team. She then chose to enter the world of freelancing, Writing/Directing & Editing promotional and corporate videos for various corporations and agencies in Dubai and now Cyprus. Throughout the years she has worked on various sets and video shoots from commercials, promos, short films, music videos, corporate videos in various crew positions, experiencing what each job role entails with the aim that it will help her better navigate as a Director. In 2018 she became part of the Directors Guild of Cyprus, and decided to turn her passion into a reality and completed her first independent short narrative film Watch Over Me, and is in post-production of her second short.
