Touring Lebanon

On July 11th 2006, Hania Mroué opened ’Metropolis’, the first arthouse cinema in Beirut. The inauguration was attended by many Lebanese and foreign guests. Three days later, war between Israel and Hezbollah erupted. ‘Metropolis’ became, for a whole month, a shelter for refugees, whom Hania and her colleagues presented an alternative film programme.

TOURING LEBANON is dedicated to films from the land of the cedars. Made by brave filmmakers and artists, staged at the fault lines of political, social and personal conflicts. What role can art possibly play, in the midst of urban ruins? Which pictures are familiar to us (Westerners), which are alien? Is Lebanon’s East really a “Near East”?

Lebanese Republic – 10,452 sq km; population: approx. 4.4 million in the country, another 12 million in the Diaspora; capital: Beirut; languages: Arabic, French, English; 18 officially accepted religions; French mandated territory 1920-1941; civil war 1975-1990, ‘Summer War’ 2006; 13 newspapers; several TV stations; no film funding and yet one of the most interesting cultural and cinematic landscapes of the Middle East!

The civil war brought film production in Lebanon up until the early 90s to a halt, due to the destroyed infrastructure. The foundation of several film schools and film festivals, along with new and affordable recording technology, ushered in a revival of films and especially short films in the last fifteen years. The unabated centre of the Lebanese film industry is Beirut, the former “Paris of the East”, which has risen from the ashes again and again like the Phoenix. A city whose sky line is seemingly forever dominated by countless construction cranes.

TOURING LEBANON shows film from the last 10 years. It is a journey through Lebanon as seen through the lenses of the country’s filmmakers. Along with works by established video-artists such as Walid Raad and Akram Zaatari, we are presenting work by students of the film departments at ALBA (Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts) and St. Joseph’s University. Films commissioned by NGOs engaged in Lebanon, as well as a glance at Lebanese blogs and internet videos, will round up the programme.

To be a filmmaker in Lebanon means to navigate your very personal way between critical questioning and the suppression of history and social conditions. Acting as archivists, social workers or entertainers, they approach, often in a documentary style, their fragmented surroundings. The Israeli attack in July and August of 2006 had received an intense filmic and artistic reception unlike hardly any war before. Amateurs and professional filmmakers showed the interested audience of the world an almost unfiltered view of the war’s immediacy via Internet portals like YouTube or MySpace. Uncut and hurriedly translated recordings, speak of the personal involvement and the desperate urge to act, archive and embrace pictures.

Many of the directors of the programme’s films have a multinational background and have been commuting between their home and their country of exile since they were kids. Some of them take a look at what exactly “home” is to them.

It is our pleasure that many of the filmmakers will take part in the festival. We are thus provided the unique opportunity to meet the people behind the films.

We would like to thank all those who pointed out unexpected filmic treasures to us and those who helped us with money, support and advice in Hamburg, Paris and Beirut, enabling us to create this programme. We wish our audience plenty of exciting adventures during the three cinematic tours through the former “Switzerland of the Orient”.

The special programme Touring Lebanon is supported by:

 

Thursday, 7 June , 19.45 h, Metropolis

Saturday, 9 June, 19.30 h, B-Movie

 

 

BerlinBeirut

Myrna Maakaron Behnke, Germany 2003

Fiction 22:45 Min., English OV

 

 

 

 

Home

Sabine El Chamaa, Lebanon 2006

Experimental, 01:49 Min., without dialogue

 

 

 

Beyrouth: les barbiers de cette ville (Beirut- The barbers of this town)

Hani Tamba, France / Lebanon 1998

Documentary, 14:00 Min., Arabic OV with English ST

 

 

 

 

Tric Trac

Myriam Chayeb, Lebanon 2003

Fiction 01:07, without dialogue

 

 

 

 

Invisible Children

Carol Mansour, Lebanon 2006

Documentary, 25:31 Min., Arabic / English OV with English ST

 

 

 

 

My Son

Lina Ghaibeh, Lebanon 2006

Animation, 05:00 Min., without dialogue

 

 

 

 

Saving Face

Jalal Toufic, Lebanon 2003

Experimental Documentary, 08:00 Min., without dialogue

 

 

 

 

Made in Lebanon

Solange Trak, Lebanon 2004

Animation, 03:12 Min., without dialogue

 

 

 

 

Wayn Yo

André Chammas, Lebanon 1998

Fiction, 13:00 Min., Arabic OV with English ST

 

Friday, 8 June, 19:30 h, B-Movie

Sunday, 10 June, 19:45 h, zeise 2

 

 

 

Souar (Pictures)

Raghida Skaff, Lebanon 1998

Fiction, 11:00 Min., Arabic / French OV with English ST

 

 

Starry Night

Mazen Kerbaj, Lebanon 2006

Experimental, 06:31 Min., without dialogues

 

 

 

Tuesday 15 August 2006, One Day after the Cease Fire, Ramel El Zarif School, Beirut

Rania Stefani, Lebanon 2006

Documentary, 08:00 Min., Arabic OV with English ST

 

 

 

 

Black Parade to My Chemical Romance

Yasmine Abboud, Lebanon 2007

Music Clip, 05:11 Min., without dialogues

 

 

 

 

untitled part 3b: (as if) beauty never ends

Jayce Salloum, Canada 2003

Experimental, 11:22 Min., Arabic OV with English ST

 

 

 

Hostage: The Bachar Tapes

Walid Raad, USA / Lebanon 2000

Experimental Documentary, 17:00 Min., English / Arabic OV

 

 

 

 

Drawing the War

Lena Merhej, Lebanon 2003

Animation, 05:00 Min., English OV

 

 

 

 

I am Well and Surviving

Hassan Choubassi, Lebanon 2006

Experimental, 03:00 Min., without dialogues with English inserts

 

 

 

Happy Birthday

Aline Kabboul, Lebanon 2003

Fiction, 16:00 Min., Arabic OV with English ST

 

 

 

 

Over Hangover

Badih Massaad, Lebanon 2005

Experimental, 03:49 Min., without dialogues

 

 

 

 

Badkon Shi...t? (Want Some Shi...t?)

Badih Massaad, Lebanon 2005

Fiction, 17:30 Min., Arabic OV with English ST

 

Friday, 8 June, 21:45 h, B-Movie

Monday, 11 June, 17:30 h, zeise 2

 

 

 

Embrace

Lamia Joreige, Lebanon 2004

Experimental, 04:30 Min., without dialogues

 

 

 

 

Wide Power

Khaled Ramadan, Lebanon 2006

Experimental Documentary, 12:00 Min., English OV with German ST

 

 

 

 

Tell Me Something

Mahmoud Hojeij, Lebanon 2006

Fiction, 23:00 Min., Arabic OV with English ST

 

 

 

 

Une Visite

Rania El Khoury, Lebanon 1997

Fiction, 07:13 Min., French OV with English ST

 

 

 

 

How I Love You

Akram Zaatari, Lebanon 2001

Documentary, 29:00 Min., Arabic OV with English ST

 

 

 

 

Mal´oubeh (Well Played)

Koussay Hamzeh, Lebanon 2004

Fiction, 06:10 Min., Arabic OV with English ST

 

 

 

 

Hizz Ya Wizz

Wissam Charaf, Lebanon 2004

Fiction, 26:00 Min., Arabic OV with English ST