Logline

After being forcibly displaced, young farmer Davide recounts the story of how the government cleaned his land from parasites, destroying everything and everyone in the process, only for the story to be flipped against him and used to propagate a false narrative.

The Story Behind Production

This film was “The Big Film” that we made during Cinemadamare Extra, the film residency in Monticchio Bagni, in the middle of Basilicata, Italy.

From day 1 at the residency Kareem (the director) had an itch to tell the story of a little boy who is forced to fight a whole army which is occupying his father’s land.

But Shadi and Antonio (the producers) were questioning the possibility of finding a “whole army” in Monticchio, which during October and November had a little more than 50 inhabitants, mostly elderly.

The film took almost 2 months to make, which, by the residency’s standards, is a very, very long time, almost too long, we were almost going to be fired, but we lit a huge fire instead (pun intended) and kickstarted production.

With the love, sweat and cooperation of everyone in Monticchio, over the two-month period, everything fell in place, and everything was possible.

The result was a solid, beautiful and bold reimagining of the times we are living in. A directorial debut that screams originality, subtlety, political relevance, and most importantly, sensitivity.

Crew

Directed by Kareem Fatayre
Produced by Shadi Rabahi and Antonio Alliata
Written by Kareem Fatayre, Ibrahim Ajami, Shadi Rabahi
Starring Davide Casale, Giulia Trezza, Ibrahim Ajami
Featuring Pantaleone Palladino, Davide Potito, Emiliano Verrasto
Sound Design and Original Music by Antoine Kassis
Edited by Kareem Fatayre

Director’s Biography

Kareem Fatayre is a Lebanese filmmaker and cinematographer whose work focuses on politically relevant stories told through emotionally grounded visuals. He graduated from Notre Dame University–Louaize in 2022 with a BA in Communication Arts, where he developed a strong foundation in storytelling, scripting, and visual structure.

After gaining experience in short films and advertising, Kareem co-founded the Snunu Collective in 2024, a platform for independent filmmaking and creative collaboration. Through Snunu, he helped shape the visual identity of the web series Moments: Remastered and co-created the short fiction series The Brokies. Both projects allowed him to explore different narrative formats and experiment with editing styles, especially non-linear storytelling.

In 2024–2025, Kareem expanded his work internationally, participating in the Cinemadamare Traveling Campus and the Shorts International Film Festival’s development and pitching program. These experiences helped him refine his approach to story development and presenting his work to a broader audience.

His directorial debut, We Are The Parasites (2025), marks his transition from cinematographer to director. The short film addresses themes of displacement and state violence through a fictional narrative based on real-world dynamics. While grounded in personal emotion, the film also reflects on broader geopolitical issues, especially those affecting the Arab region. It blends a traditional narrative structure with stylized visual sequences, balancing realism with symbolic imagery.

Kareem’s work prioritizes clarity, emotional impact, and political relevance. His filmmaking combines a structured approach to story with a flexible, intuitive visual style. As both a director and cinematographer, he continues to explore how form can enhance meaning and how independent cinema can respond to complex realities.

Festivals

Winner of ‘Best Land Peace and Justice Film‘ at the Oscar Qualifying Beirut Shorts