Tony Elias Kanaan is an upcoming screenwriter, actor, director, producer, and most notably an Instagram clown.
We start by talking about Tony’s famous anti Kafala advertisement (1:33), chasing his passion of film-making while studying psychology (7:32), and the approach he takes towards creating his advertisements (9:55). We then delve into the impact of his work (12:46), traditional media pushing Tony as a mental health spokesperson (15:46), what inspires his film-making style (18:21), transitioning from writing to directing (22:16), and the importance of following your passion (24:09). Joseph-Pietro then tells us a bit about being a music composer (26:57). We also discuss the horrendous state of the Lebanese film industry (30:33), future of cinema (39:40), purpose behind Tony’s Instagram characters (43:58), and negativity of cancel culture (48:15). Furthermore, Tony explains to us the reason behind him creating a self defense program and why he received some backlash (49:56).