STREAMING ON PARAMOUNT+ AND OTHER PLATFORMS (CANADA ONLY)
Based on the popular short film “The Last Baron,” THE LEBANESE BURGER MAFIA is crowd-funded feature documentary about Burger Baron, a rogue fast-food chain with mysterious origins, a cult following, and a secret pathway to the immigrant dream. It follows Omar Mouallem, filmmaker and heir to a Burger Baron franchise, as he chases clues through rural Alberta, capturing the trials and tribulations of Arab immigrants and a relentless battle over the burger chain’s trademark rights.
Upcoming Screenings
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OWEN SOUND REEL FESTIVAL
SAT. MAR. 2, 11 AM
Roxy Theatre Owen Sound
251 9th St E, Owen Sound, Ontario -
BELLEVILLE DOWNTOWN DOC FEST
FEB 24, 5:30 PM
Festival runs Feb. 23–25 (Belleville, ONT) -
NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA FILM FESTIVAL
(DATE & TIME TBD)
Festival runs April 12–14
“Rich in economic, cultural, culinary, and familial histories, the amusing, cheekily titled, and disarmingly complex documentary The Lebanese Burger Mafia is a satisfyingly full meal.”
– Andrew Parker, The Gate
Videos
The mystery of the Burger Baron mushroom sauce
How Lebanon's civil war resurrected the Burger Baron
Crowdfunder campaign for a documentary about Burger Baron
“The Lebanese Burger Mafia is straight-ahead and unpretentious … a funny, behind-the scenes look at an immigrant success story in the Prairies.”
— Danita Steinberg, POV Magazine
Credits
Director, Writer and Producer: Omar Mouallem
Producer: Dylan Rhys Howard
Executive Producer: Blake McWilliam
Director of Photography: Moh Mahfouz
Editor: Sarah Taylor
Camera and sound: Mazen Mahfouz
Score: Ashraf El Assaly
Lebanon Unit Producer: Rayssa Kanso
Lebanon Unit Producer: Ali Chehade
Camera and Sound (Lebanon Unit): Jamil El Choueiry
Camera and Sound (Lebanon Unit): Mohamed Berro
Additional Cinematography (California Unit): Christopher Maue
Executive Producer: Kyle Johnson
Visual FX: Shadi Didi
Lead Animator: Lee Nielsen
Animator: Caleb Hystad
Unit Photographer: Amber Bracken
“Everything that is great about filmmaking: interrogating important questions, a hint of quirkiness, the process of self-discovery in creating, beautiful shots of Canadian landscape and communities, and absolute honesty.”
— Shireen Ahmed, CBC Sports
News
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LBM is now streaming exclusively on Paramount+ Canada. Outside streaming rights are still available. Contact MAD Film & Distribution.
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The Lebanese Burger Mafia is now available to rent online on all video-on-demand platforms in Canada and will be streaming on Paramount+ Canada on January 26th.
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The Lebanese Burger Mafia took home Best Documentary and Best Documentary Director at the 11th annual Silk Road International Film Festival in Dublin, Ireland! Thank you to SRIFF organizers and jurors and MAD Solutions for this honour. Click here for a full list of winners.
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The Alberta Media Production Industries Association awarded the Rosie for Best Screenwriter (Documentary Over 30 Minutes) to The Lebanese Burger Mafia’s writer/director Omar Mouallem. Thank you AMPIA for this honour and for also nominating LBM in the categories of Best Documentary Production (Over 30 Min.) and Best Sound (Documentary Over 30 Min.).
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levelFilm has secured an official Canadian theatrical release on November 10th, with the first confirmed theatre at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in Toronto with four dates (Nov. 10–12 & 17). Theatre programmers interested in playing LBM are encouraged to contact levelFilm.
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The Lebanese Burger Mafia has been nominated for three Rosies by the Alberta Media Production Industries Association!
Best Documentary Production Over 30 minutes (Dylan Rhys Howard, Omar Mouallem & Blake McWilliam)
Best Screenwriter – Documentary Over 30 minutes (Omar Mouallem)
Best Overall Sound – Documentary Over 30 minutes (Johnny Blerot) -
LBM will have its Netherlands premiere on September 9 at the Arab Film Festival Rotterdam. The festival runs from Sep. 5–10. Tickets available now.
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We are proud to receive a second place Honourable Mention for Best Feature Film From the Toronto Arab Film Festival. The jury said of LBM: “A heartfelt and insightful documentary about burgers and the ties that bind in the Lebanese diaspora.”
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We’re proud to receive two audience choice awards from Northwest International Documentary Festival for Best Documentary and Best Alberta Documentary! For a full list of winners visit northwestfest.ca.
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The Lebanese Burger Mafia will begin its festival run with a world premiere at Hot Docs, which will be held from April 27th to May 7th in Toronto. The feature film will have its world premiere on May 3rd, 2023, at the Isabel Bader Theatre at 5:30 pm, with an encore presentation on May 5th at TIFF Lightbox Theatre at 2:15 pm. Tickets and festival passes are on sale now.
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Back Road Productions has secured worldwide sales and distribution rights ahead of the film's festival run. MAD Solutions has acquired distribution rights for the Middle East/North African region. Based in Cairo, MAD was founded in 2013 to operate in film and TV distribution niches currently not being served in the Arabic-speaking world. Its films have been to such international festivals as Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Locarno, and Toronto. The deal with MAD Solutions was brokered by Brigitte Hubmann and Jennifer Price of Film Associates International on behalf of the production.
“The Lebanese Burger Mafia” takes a bite out of crowdfunding
Hot Docs 2023 Review: The Lebanese Burger Mafia
As It Happens feature interview
How a failed McDonald’s knock-off became an anarchic, freewheeling fast-food success for generations of Lebanese-Canadian immigrants
CBC TV News Calgary
Hot Docs 2023 #9: Family Business
Western Canadian Filmmakers, Industry Professionals Up Their Game at Hot Docs
How a McDonald’s Knockoff Became the Immigrant Dream
The Lebanese Burger Mafia, a new doc explores an Alberta fast food empire
RETROactive: Exploring Alberta’s past in The Last Baron
The Mystery of the Lebanese Mushroom Burger
Burgers on the Prairies
Christian Zyp interviews Omar Mouallem about The Last Baron.
3 Canadian Food Documentaries We Loved in 2021
The Last Baron documentary looks at Edmonton fast food royalty's legacy
Exploring the history (and mystery) of Alberta's iconic Burger Baron chain in new documentary
Foodies of the Year 2022: Omar Mouallem, The Last Baron
The Lebanese Burger Mafia Tops NorthwestFest Winners
9 can't-miss documentaries to see in theatres at Hot Docs 2023
These Docs are Hot: Academy of Canadian Film & TV's monthly curated list of must-watch Canadian content
New documentary traces roots of iconic Burger Baron chain
Host Mark Connolly talks director Omar Mouallem ahead of the world premiere
On Film: The Lebanese Burger Mafia
Barons of the Prairies
The story behind a rogue burger chain run by a syndicate of fiercely independent Canadian immigrants
Telling the Story of the Burger Baron: Omar Mouallem's documentary is a deeply personal look at the history of the western Canadian "chain"
ECAMP Podcast takes to the streets to explore the history of Lebanese peddlers in Alberta & their connection to a beloved Alberta fast food restaurant
Shireen Ahmed's Joy Drop Column
Film Rage Interview
#HotDocs23 Review: The Lebanese Burger Mafia
CIFF 2023: Omar Mouallem on The Lebanese Burger Mafia
At Least the Docs are Hot
OMNI Arabic coverage of Toronto Arabic Film Festival
Afternoons with Rob Breakenridge
How the son of a Burger Baron turned the chain's history into a 'surprisingly' successful documentary
Au Canada, la mafia du burger a ses barons, et ils sont libanais
CTV Saskatoon
The Lebanese Burger Mafia is a breakthrough in Arab Canadian cinema
“Serves up a super-compelling story about hard work, determination and family.”
— Moviepie.com
Follow our production on Instagram
“Thoroughly enjoyable … Omar Mouallem’s engrossing documentary on the origins of the fast food chain-that-is-not-a-chain hits all the right buttons.”
— Tom Murray, Edmonton Journal
Produced with support from
