Rob Munday
Secrets have a way of consuming people when left unspoken, but revealing them also requires trust – especially when that confession could fundamentally alter how others see you. This conundrum is central to Three Centimetres, filmmaker Lara Zeidan’s tightly wound drama about four Lebanese girls sharing a ferris wheel ride. What begins as a carefree outing gradually transforms into something far more unstable when Manal decides to reveal a secret about her sexuality. In a society where homophobia remains deeply entrenched, this confession not only threatens the dynamic of their friendship group, but also Manal’s individual sense of belonging.
Made while studying at the London Film School, Three Centimetres unfolds entirely in a single take, with the camera confined to the ferris wheel carriage alongside the characters. On paper, that setup risks feeling gimmicky, but instead Zeidan confidently transforms that restriction into one of the film’s greatest strengths. The cramped space where her story unfolds creates an atmosphere where emotions have nowhere to escape, forcing every glance or moment of silence to carry extra weight. As the wheel continues to turn – or at times doesn’t – Zeidan’s short begins to feel almost claustrophobic, despite the seemingly endless vistas surrounding the central quartet. As viewers, we’re now trapped in this situation, feeling immersed in its immediacy, with the one-take structure offering no escape from the mounting tension through the relief of a simple cut.
“The short is a one-take film shot on a Ferris Wheel in Beirut during sunset.” – Zeidan detailing the production of Three Centimetres
What ultimately makes the film so effective, though, is the authenticity of the performances and the natural rhythm of the conversations between the four friends. Zeidan explained, when we asked her about the one-take approach, that extensive preparation was essential to the short’s success, as she couldn’t physically remain with the actors and camera during the shoot itself. All that hard work certainly pays off. The cast feel truly believable as lifelong friends, and the subtle differences in how each character responds to Manal’s revelation become the film’s emotional core.
For a nine-minute student short, Three Centimetres achieves something impressively layered, functioning both as a snapshot of contemporary Lebanese society and as a universally recognisable story exploring themes of what Zeidan describes as “personal freedom and social expectations”. Winning awards at Berlinale and Encounters in 2018, alongside the Iris Prize, Zeidan admits she was surprised by the reception to her “tiny student film”. She adds that sharing it with audiences helped her realise how work like this can “spark important conversations and add visibility to the intimate stories of young Arab women.”