Oumsiyat & Beirut Cinema Days in Beirut

For the second event of the Oumsiyat programme, Ettijahat has partnered with Beirut Cinema Days [Ayam Beirut Al Cinema’iya]. The screening event took place at Ettijahat’s rooftop on 16th June 2022 and comes as a part of Oumsiyat’s film programming which aims to include audience discussion about the city of Beirut, its fate in recent years, and the personal questions and worlds that the film directors have posted and shared with us. On the other hand, Beirut Cinema Days seek to empower filmmakers and audiences across the Arab region, promoting a fundamental belief in the power of film as a driver for change.

The screenings included the film Octopus by Karim Kassem which is a story about a filmmaker who arrives at the filming location in Beirut one day before the 4th of August explosion, causing him to change all of his plans. The second film was Re-Destruction by Simon El Habre tackles the topic of reconstruction policies taken place in Beirut since the end of its civil war. The camera wanders through Beirut, chronicling the reality of the city, and questioning reconstruction in the aftermath of the Beirut Port explosion.