DOHA: It is home-coming for Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, as the acclaimed film based on the international bestseller by the Lebanese poet is poised to release in Lebanon tomorrow and in Qatar on May 7.
Producer and star, Salma Hayek Pinault, who has ancestral roots in Lebanon, attended the red carpet premiere on Monday evening at Cinema-city Beirut Souks as part of a tour that included a visit to the Gibran Museum.
The film’s Lebanese connection also includes Academy Award-winning composer Gabriel Yared (The English Patient), who scored the animated film which is presented in segments directed by some of the world’s leading animators and a through-line narrative written and directed by Roger Allers (The Lion King).
Co-financed by the Doha Film Institute, Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet will open in cinemas in Lebanon and Kuwait tomorrow, and in Qatar and UAE on May 7 ahead of its US release scheduled for August. The film is being distributed in the Middle East by Media International Pictures.
Fatma Al Remaihi, CEO of the Doha Film Institute, said: “Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet is a project we are extremely proud to have been involved with from the very early stages. This film has touched the hearts of many from its world premiere last year at the Toronto International Film Festival and its Middle East premiere in Doha at the second Ajyal Youth Film Festival in December. The screening in Beirut is particularly meaningful as it brings the film to the home of Kahlil Gibran and allows Lebanese audiences to celebrate his work through this captivating movie.”
At a press conference yesterday in Beirut Salma Hayek talked about her connection to her Lebanese grandfather through Gibran’s book and the personal significance of the film.
“Through this book I got to know my grandfather, through this book I got to have my grandfather teaching me about life,” she said, “For me this film is a love letter to my heritage.”
Since its publication in 1923, Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, has become a classic around the world. It is regarded as one of the best-selling books of the 20th century and has been translated into more than 40 languages.
Writer-director Roger Allers recreates the book’s essence in a beautiful and charming tale that remains faithful to the spirit of Gibran’s original text. Interwoven with Gibran’s lyrical and inspiring words on the true nature of love, work, freedom and marriage, the film is anchored in the story of an unlikely friendship between a mischievous young girl and an imprisoned poet, with stunning ‘chapters’ from a host of award-winning and renowned international artists and musicians.
The Peninsula
