A Venice Film Festival out-of-competition premiere that certainly also could’ve smashed at Cannes, director Rami Kodeih’s Lebanese heist thriller “Furies” has an unmissable pedigree already: It’s executive-produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov via their Smokehouse Pictures. Honorary Golden Lion recipient Clooney has already made noise at the festival with his typically gloves-off remarks about the Warnermount Merger, and free speech, but he’s ready to step aside for this project to unveil in Italy.
“Furies” creates an escalating sense of inescapable tension as, in Beirut in 2022 as financial institutions refused to give Lebanese people their own money during an economic crisis, two women hatch a wild plan to rob a bank. It’s a timely film about subjugated-class uprising, yes, but also wildly entertaining with the breakout potential of movies like Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “Amores Perros” or Fernando Meirelles’ “City of God.” “Furies” also counts Rodrigo Teixeira (“I’m Still Here“) and Berta Marchiori of RT Features among producers, along with Kodeih and Nora Mariana. Watch a first-look clip, exclusive to IndieWire, from the film below.
More on the film courtesy of its Venice synopsis: “During Lebanon’s real-life corruption-fueled economic collapse, all the banks freeze accounts overnight, trapping millions of people’s life savings. Maro, a determined single mother, tries to access her own money to pay for her wild-hearted younger sister Dalia’s life-saving surgery. When the bank refuses, the sisters scheme an elaborate all-night heist to reclaim what is rightfully theirs. As they recruit an ex-militia member and truck driver into their plan, it triggers a chain of events that quickly spirals out of control in a city already on the brink.”
And more out of director Kodeih’s statement. He co-wrote the film with Nora Mariana: “This film began with a text we sent to a friend in 2019, when Lebanese banks stopped giving depositors access to their savings: ‘Do I need to write a heist movie about me stealing my own money back?’ It was a fantasy born out of raw emotion. Like millions of Lebanese, my life savings were stuck in a bank amid a corruption-fueled economic crisis — the worst in modern history. My wife and co-writer Nora needed surgery, which we were unable to do because the bank refused to let us access our own money. My initial fantasy later became Furies, a characterdriven, subversive crime story. It’s an exploration of how corruption and economic stability can trickle down and invade the lives of ordinary people. Filmed amid the ongoing conflicts in Lebanon, it’s also an act of faith in cinema’s power to inspire resilience and celebrate the bonds of family. As of today, in 2026, the Lebanese bank freezes continue. While deeply personal to me as a filmmaker, this film can give anyone, anywhere, the thrilling wish fulfillment of ordinary people finally taking their destiny into their own hands.”
“Furies” premieres in Venice on Friday, September 4. Le Pacte is handling world sales as the film seeks distribution. This one will sell, no question.
