Plot

Award-winning film about Wahbi Al-Hariri-Rifai who was an accomplished international artist, architect, archaeologist, and author. The story-line takes viewers through multiple countries and during momentous 1920s -1990s world events.

Chanting of the Dunes has so far won over 40 awards and 20 nominations. The film takes viewers on a dazzling journey through multiple countries and during momentous world events that extend from the Levant in the 1920s to Europe, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and China in the 1990s. Chanting of the Dunes recounts the life of Wahbi Al-Hariri-Rifai who was an accomplished international artist, architect, archaeologist, and author. The story is told through the mixed perspective of his wife, Widad Marachi, who married him at the age of 15. The storyline is full of unexpected turns and is accompanied by a superb award-winning soundtrack. The film is beautifully illustrated through hundreds of meticulously restored black/white and color archival photographs and original footage. According to festival managers, the film exceeds all expectations and represents a new cinematographic genre between narrative feature and documentary. Many have called it "extraordinary, moving, mesmerizing, full of messages..."—Maria Midani, Producer