Eli Jean Tahchi

Eli Jean Tahchi is a Lebanese-born filmmaker, screenwriter, and actor based in Montreal. He studied cinema at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts in Beirut. In 2011, he moved to Montreal and continued his film studies at the University of Montreal, and later at INIS specializing in directing. Tahchi's socially engaged cinema is sharp, humanistic, and metaphorically charged, often addressing the notion of identity. Since 2011, he has been involved in various culturally diverse projects. In 2020, he was selected by the National Film Board of Canada to direct his film _Sometimes I Wish I Was on a Desert Island_ aimed at amplifying the voices of LGBTQ2+ Arabic-speaking individuals affected by COVID-19. This film earned him a nomination at the 24th Québec Cinéma Gala for Best Short Documentary. Recently, he was selected as the winner of the "Regard sur Montréal" residency during which he produced his new documentary titled _Neighbors In My Backyard,_ which opened the RIDM in 2021.