Directed by Serhat Caradee
Writer/director Serhat Caradee has created a very personal story about three Lebanese-Australian friends caught between two cultures and wanting to escape from lives that are mapped out before them in Western Sydney. Panel-beater Tarek (Les Chantery) lives at home with his parents and little sister. Nabill (Buddy Dannoun) works in his family’s cleaning business and Sam (Waddah Sari) seems more interested in making a name for himself on the street. As with many young people, impulse gets the better of them and the friends hatch a brave plan for a relatively easy route to the better lives they are all searching for amidst the bright lights of the city.
Whilst the plan might have seemed like a good idea at the time, the men find themselves crossing paths with the ‘big boys’ of the drug scene, and when large amounts of money are involved, there is the guarantee that there will also be large amounts of violence. Tarak’s brother Jamal (Bren Foster) is already in prison, so Tarak is aware of the dangerous path he is taking, but the temptation of making easy money is too great. As the subtitle to the film says, ‘When you’re on the outside, all you want is in.’
News reporting often highlights the ‘Middle Eastern background’ of convicted criminals but the film does not centre on crime and ethnic gangs. As Caradee says, ‘At the end of the day what I want the audience to walk out with is an understanding of how these boys think, how they see the world, and why they end up turning to crime.’ Cedar Boys is a suspenseful film that exposes the motivations of young people behind the headlines, and also lets us into the lives of some Lebanese-Australians to share their humour, their sensitivity and their need to do the right thing.
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