Zozo by Josef Fares at Scandinavia House

Zozo was written and directed by the award-winning Swedish director Josef Fares, who is reported to have been selected by the film magazine Variety as one of the top ten directors to watch in 2006.  

It is the story of Zozo, who grows up in Beirut and lives a surprisingly normal life with school and friends despite the civil war raging around him. When catastrophe strikes, Zozo is suddenly forced to cope with life on his own. His only hope is to find his grandparents, who have recently emigrated to the "distant paradise" of Sweden -- to him a completely unknown country.

Significantly more dramatic and emotionally charged than the director’s earlier work, Zozo still has Fares’ trademark sense of humor, warmth and visual style.

Fares himself was born in Lebanon in 1977 and moved to Sweden at the age of ten.  "This is my big dream, the film I’ve always wanted to make," says Fares, who also directed the hit comedies Kops (2003) and Jalla! Jalla!, which was nominated as Sweden’s Best Foreign Film candidate for 2001.

Zozo
Written and directed by Josef Fares (2005)
In Swedish and Arabic with English subtitles, 103 mins.
Scandinavia House
58 Park Avenue at 38th Street
New York City
January 20, 2006, at 6 pm and 8:30 pm

For tickets and information: www.scandinaviahouse.org

Image: Imad Creidi in Zozo, © Memfis Film 2005