The Anatomy of a Heist: How George Clooney-Backed ‘Furies’ Captures Lebanon’s Financial Despair

The 83rd Venice International Film Festival has long been a sanctuary for cinema that bridges the gap between high-octane entertainment and blistering social critique. However, few films in the 2026 lineup have generated as much visceral anticipation as Furies, the Lebanese heist thriller directed by Rami Kodeih. Premiering out-of-competition, the film has arrived on the Lido with an "unmissable" pedigree, bolstered by the executive production of George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures.

While the festival has been abuzz with Clooney’s own outspoken commentary on the "Warnermount" merger and the encroachment of AI in the arts, the spotlight is now shifting toward a project that Clooney has championed as a vital piece of global storytelling. Furies is not merely a genre exercise; it is a cinematic response to one of the most severe economic collapses in modern history. It is a film that transforms the cold, clinical reality of banking freezes into a high-stakes race for survival, positioning itself as a spiritual successor to the gritty realism of Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Amores Perros and Fernando Meirelles’ City of God.

Main Facts: A Story of Desperation and Defiance

At its core, Furies tells the story of Maro, a determined single mother, and her younger sister, Dalia. Set in the sprawling, tension-soaked streets of Beirut in 2022, the narrative follows the sisters as they are pushed to the brink by a financial system that has effectively evaporated their life savings. When Dalia requires life-saving surgery, Maro finds herself trapped behind the bulletproof glass of a bank that refuses to release her own funds.

The film follows their subsequent decision to orchestrate an elaborate, all-night heist to reclaim what is rightfully theirs. To execute the plan, they recruit a disparate crew, including a former militia member and a weary truck driver, triggering a sequence of events that spirals out of control against the backdrop of a city on the verge of total collapse.

The production is a powerhouse collaboration. Alongside Smokehouse Pictures, the film is produced by Rodrigo Teixeira (I’m Still Here) and Berta Marchiori of RT Features, with director Rami Kodeih and co-writer Nora Mariana also serving as producers. World sales are being handled by the French powerhouse Le Pacte, while CAA Media Finance is managing North American rights—a partnership that underscores the film’s significant commercial potential.

Chronology: From Personal Crisis to Global Premiere

The journey of Furies began not in a writer’s room, but in the frantic reality of a text message sent in 2019. This was the year Lebanon’s financial house of cards began to tumble, leading to a liquidity crisis that saw banks impose informal capital controls, effectively locking millions of citizens out of their accounts.

2019: The Spark of Inspiration
Director Rami Kodeih and his wife/co-writer Nora Mariana found themselves among the millions affected. As their own savings became inaccessible, the duo faced a terrifying reality: Mariana required surgery, and the funds to pay for it were trapped in a banking system that had ceased to function. In a moment of "raw emotion" and "fantasy," Kodeih texted a friend: "Do I need to write a heist movie about me stealing my own money back?"

2020–2022: Development Amidst Chaos
The script was developed as Lebanon descended further into crisis. The writers chose to set the film in 2022, a year that saw a surge in real-life "bank heists" by ordinary citizens (often referred to as "depositor revolts"). During this period, the production team worked to balance the tropes of the heist genre with the authentic, lived experience of the Lebanese people.

2024–2025: Production and Backing
The involvement of Smokehouse Pictures provided the project with the international clout necessary to secure high-level distribution interest. Filming took place on location in Lebanon, navigating the logistical nightmares of a country dealing with fuel shortages and intermittent power, which Kodeih describes as an "act of faith in cinema."

September 4, 2026: The Venice Premiere
The film makes its world debut at the Sala Grande, positioned as a major "spotlight" title. Despite its out-of-competition status, critics have noted that the film possesses the "Cannes-level" intensity and polish that often defines major award contenders.

Supporting Data: The Real-World Context of the "Lollar" Crisis

To understand the stakes of Furies, one must understand the economic devastation that inspired it. The World Bank has described Lebanon’s financial crisis as likely one of the top three most severe economic collapses globally since the mid-19th century.

• Currency Devaluation: By 2022, the Lebanese pound had lost more than 95% of its value against the US dollar.
• The "Lollar": This term was coined to describe US dollars stuck in the Lebanese banking system—money that existed on paper but could only be withdrawn in local currency at a fraction of its market value (a process known as a "haircut").
• Real-Life Heists: The film’s plot mirrors several real-life incidents. In 2022 alone, dozens of Lebanese citizens—including a woman named Sali Hafiz who used a toy gun to retrieve $13,000 for her sister’s cancer treatment—stormed banks to demand their own money. These individuals were widely treated as folk heroes rather than criminals.
• Poverty Levels: By the time of the film’s setting, nearly 80% of the Lebanese population had been pushed below the poverty line, with the middle class effectively eradicated.

This data provides the "inescapable tension" mentioned in early reviews. The heist in Furies is not driven by greed, but by the mathematical impossibility of survival within a corrupt system.

Official Responses: A "Wish Fulfillment" for the Subjugated

The reception in Venice has been bolstered by strong statements from the creative team. Director Rami Kodeih’s director’s statement serves as a manifesto for the film’s intent:

"This film began with a text… it was a fantasy born out of raw emotion. My initial fantasy later became Furies, a character-driven, subversive crime story. It’s an exploration of how corruption and economic instability can trickle down and invade the lives of ordinary people… this film can give anyone, anywhere, the thrilling wish fulfillment of ordinary people finally taking their destiny into their own hands."

George Clooney, while focusing his public remarks on industry-wide issues such as the "Warnermount" merger and the ethics of AI, has signaled his support for Furies as a prime example of the kind of "gloves-off" storytelling that Smokehouse Pictures aims to promote. Clooney’s presence at the festival has historically been a harbinger of critical success, and his backing of Kodeih is seen as a significant endorsement of Middle Eastern cinema on the global stage.

Early critical reactions have compared the film’s "breakout potential" to the gritty, kinetic energy of early 2000s Latin American cinema. Critics have lauded the film’s ability to remain "wildly entertaining" while serving as a "timely film about subjugated-class uprising."

Implications: The Global Resonance of Financial Instability

The implications of Furies extend far beyond the borders of Lebanon. As the film enters the marketplace, it taps into a burgeoning global sentiment of distrust toward financial institutions.

1. The Universal Narrative of the "Little Guy"
While the specifics are Lebanese, the theme of the "ordinary person versus the bank" resonates in any economy experiencing inflation or austerity. This universal appeal is why industry insiders believe the film "will sell, no question." The film provides a cathartic outlet for a global audience that increasingly feels the "trickle-down" effects of systemic corruption.

2. A New Wave of Lebanese Cinema
Furies represents a shift in how Lebanese stories are told. Moving away from purely documentary or traditional war-drama formats, Kodeih utilizes the "heist thriller" framework to reach a wider, international audience. By blending genre tropes with political urgency, the film paves the way for other regional filmmakers to utilize commercial formats for social commentary.

3. The Distribution Landscape
With Le Pacte and CAA Media Finance steering the ship, Furies is expected to land a significant North American distribution deal shortly after its premiere. Its success could signal a renewed appetite for foreign-language thrillers that offer both intellectual depth and "popcorn" excitement.

4. Cinema as Resilience
As Kodeih noted, the bank freezes in Lebanon continue into 2026. The film stands as a testament to the "power to inspire resilience." It suggests that when the law and the economy fail the people, the only remaining currency is the bond of family and the courage to reclaim one’s future.

In conclusion, Furies is poised to be more than a festival highlight; it is a cultural flashpoint. By anchoring a high-octane heist in the tragic reality of a collapsed state, Rami Kodeih has created a film that is as much a warning as it is an entertainment—a "first-look" into the desperate lengths to which people will go when they have nothing left to lose but their dignity.