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Beirut Cinema Defies War with Film Festival
27 May
Summary
- Metropolis Cinema in Beirut hosts the South Screens festival.
- The festival runs from May 28 to June 6, showcasing international filmmakers.
- The event aims to face reality through cinema amid current conflict.
Despite Israel's intensified air strikes in Lebanon, Beirut's Metropolis Cinema is moving forward with the second edition of its South Screens (Écrans du Sud) festival. The festival, scheduled to run from May 28 to June 6, is presented as a vital cultural event amid times of war and uncertainty.
The festival's organizers stated their intention to gather around cinema not as an escape, but as a means to collectively confront reality. The event boasts a lineup featuring notable filmmakers such as Oliver Laxe, Saeed Roustaee, Rungano Nyoni, Park Chan-wook, Lucrecia Martel, and Cherien Dabis.
Highlights include Oliver Laxe's master class on June 3 and the opening film, Lebanese director Dima El-Horr's "And The Fish Fly Above Our Heads." The festival's closing film will be Cherien Dabis's "All That's Left of You," a Sundance premiere.
The Metropolis Cinema itself, located in the Mar Mikhael district, was inaugurated in its current venue in December 2024, near the site of the tragic 2020 Beirut port blast. Its continued operation and the festival's execution underscore a commitment to cultural resilience.
