A Portrait of Michel

A Portrait of Michel is an investigative video portrait that unravels the mysterious abduction of Michel Saadé, a young doctor who vanished at the hands of the Hafez al-Assad regime in Damascus in 1978. Combining family interviews, archival materials, and photographs of Michel’s remaining belongings—his “Objects of Evidence”—the film reconstructs his life and disappearance through fragmented memories and found documents. As the search for answers unfolds across Beirut, Damascus, and Toulouse, haunting questions linger about his fate. Interwoven with poignant 8mm footage of joyful family moments in Syria and Lebanon from 1946, the film juxtaposes past happiness with the enduring weight of loss and unresolved history.