The Lebanese Film Festival returns for its fourth edition in the French capital, from October 13 to 20, at the Cinema Le Lincoln. The president of the event, Sarah Hajjar, stressed that holding this festival during the difficult period that Lebanon is currently experiencing was an absolute necessity: “Faced with the tragedy in which Lebanon is once again plunged, talking about this constantly scarred country is more necessary than ever. Instead of letting the war silence us, we continue to mobilize in support of the Lebanese people and Lebanese creativity.”
This edition offers the opportunity to discover no less than forty films, including twenty-five short films and about ten premieres. Filmmaker and photographer Danielle Arbid is the president and patron of this edition. She is known for her films such as Simple Passion, Parisienne, A Lost Man, and In the Battlefields.
The full program can be found here.
This year, the film lineup is accompanied by an exhibition dedicated to kinetic photography, entitled Au Fil du Temps (Over Time), also held at Cinema Le Lincoln. This exhibition questions the boundaries between still and moving images, increasingly blurred in recent years, thus exploring the divide between photography and cinema. The exhibition is divided into two parts: The Dance of Elements, which explores the four elements – fire, wind, earth, and water – through the lens, and Blurred Bodies, focusing on the dynamics of bodies in motion.
Partner Events:
The French release of the documentary Dancing on a Volcano by Cyril Aris, which focuses on the shooting of the feature film Costa Brava directed by Mounia Akl in the aftermath of the double explosion at the Port of Beirut, during the economic crisis and just months after the thaoura and the coronavirus pandemic.
The theater play Let’s Talk, It’s Time, written and performed by Philippe Aractingi,revisits his memories in various artistic languages. Acclaimed in Lebanon, it will run at the Essaïon Theater from September 17 to October 29.