12 Angry Lebanese: The Documentary

Overview

Set inside Beirut’s Roumieh Prison, 12 Angry Lebanese: The Documentary follows inmates and director Zeina Daccache as they work to stage a theatrical adaptation of Reginald Rose’s 1954 teleplay Twelve Angry Men. The film brings together two settings: the prison and the process of preparing a play. Its subject is crime, but its focus, as described, is the effort to make this adaptation with people living inside the prison.

Daccache directed, wrote and produced the 2009 Lebanese documentary. The film premiered at the 2009 Dubai International Film Festival. Its premise gives the project a clear point of interest for viewers drawn to documentaries about performance, incarceration and the work involved in bringing a stage production together.

For readers browsing by period or subject, it belongs among Documentaries of the 2000s and connects with True crime documentaries. The stated genre is documentary film; its listed subjects include theatrical adaptation, Twelve Angry Men and Roumieh Prison.

Key features

• A theatre project in prison: The documentary chronicles efforts to stage an adaptation of Rose’s teleplay with inmates inside Roumieh Prison.
• A well-defined creative role: Zeina Daccache is credited as director, writer and producer, placing her at the center of the film’s documented project.
• A Lebanese setting: The film is identified as Lebanese, and its central setting is Beirut’s Roumieh Prison.
• A connection to a known play: The production adapts Twelve Angry Men, Rose’s 1954 teleplay.

Who it's for

This is a natural choice for viewers interested in the intersection of theatre and prison life, or in documentaries about creative projects developed with incarcerated people. Students and teachers studying documentary film, theatrical adaptation or Lebanese cinema may also find the premise useful as a starting point for discussion. The available details establish the setting and production effort, but do not describe the film’s scenes or the adaptation’s outcome.

Pros and cons

Pros

• The central undertaking is specific and easy to grasp: staging a theatrical adaptation with inmates inside Roumieh Prison.
• The film connects a contemporary documentary project with Rose’s 1954 teleplay.
• Daccache’s combined directing, writing and producing credits give the work a clear creative lead.

Cons

• The available description does not explain how the inmates’ rehearsal process unfolds or what the finished production looks like.
• It gives no further detail about the film’s style, running time or current streaming availability.

Alternatives

For another documentary browsing path, consider 180 Degrees South: Conquerors of the Useless, 1929, La crise or 23 Anos em 7 Segundos. These are directory alternatives, though the available information here does not establish a thematic connection to Daccache’s film.

Verdict

12 Angry Lebanese: The Documentary centers on an unusual and sharply defined undertaking: adapting Twelve Angry Men with inmates at Beirut’s Roumieh Prison. Its combination of theatre, prison setting and Lebanese authorship offers a strong starting point for viewers interested in documentary projects built around performance. The details available establish the premise and the people and place involved, while leaving the film’s broader treatment of the process open for viewers to discover.