Lebanon/War

Ashkal Alwan and the Sursock Museum are pleased to invite you to the screening of Lebanon/War by Rania Stephan, on Thursday, 15 February at 19:30. The film will be followed by a Q&A session. This screening is part of a longer film program in parallel with the exhibition Home Works 9: Intimate Garden Scene in Beirut.   

Lebanon/War
Dir. Rania Stephan, 2006
47’, Lebanon
In Arabic with English subtitles
 
Shot in the urgency of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war, these eight short videos present a ledger of how average Lebanese citizens negotiated their daily lives during and after the war. Lebanon/War comprises compelling vignettes of a street cleaner in the deserted Martyr’s Square, a volunteer rescue worker in the southern suburbs, residents from the south displaced and relocated to public schools, and parents and kin during an informal memorial celebration. Far from the media frenzy, the tragedy of war is recorded with humility and simplicity.
 
Rania Stephan (b. 1960, Lebanon) is a filmmaker and video artist based in Beirut. She graduated in Cinema Studies from Latrobe University in Australia and Paris VIII University in France. She has directed numerous short and medium-length videos and documentaries notable for their play with genres and their themes of memory, identity, archaeology of the image, and the figure of the detective. Anchored in the turbulent reality of her country, her documentaries offer a personal perspective on political events.