Katalog 2013.pdf - Visions du Réel

focus liban
239
a world not ours
Capturing a city
Beirut, a city of paradoxes, so unique and
exuberant, battered but brought back to
life, has become a symbolic and recurring
theme in contemporary Lebanese
cinema. The country’s capital becomes a
catalyst for collective questions: scenes
of people wandering around the city are
effectively explorations of the country’s
and the people’s identity. Seeing and
filming Beirut in order to examine oneself
and others: the urban fabric and its
ruins are a mirror of reality, as if we were
taking the pulse of a living being and listening
to its heart. We discover Beirut as
if it were a lady of many facets, who, over
the years and in the course of events,
moves between elegance and negligence,
exuberance and apathy, glory and
decadence, cosmopolitanism and sectarianism.
It can be viewed as a cluster of
paradoxes that reflects an entire country
and its history. Its schizophrenic essence
is also what feeds passions, leading to
excesses and stimulating the creative
impulses that can be found unmistakably
in these cinematic projects.
Cinema beyond borders
Lebanese cinema can be proud of
always being able to bounce back
from the vagaries of its national history.
However, periods of expansion
of the industry have been followed by
more difficult years. In recent Lebanese
filmmaking, it is also crucial to recognise
the “survivor” mentality. In this artistic
context, surviving expresses much
more than surviving the war, especially
if we consider the systematic destruction
of social values and organisational
structures. In this climate of recurrent
instability, Lebanese cinema has nevertheless
been able to thrive in a testament
to the remarkable vitality of its
filmmakers’ visions. In the international
arena, Lebanese creative documentary
filmmaking has achieved a growing
presence, and has been welcomed
with equal enthusiasm by both public
and professional audiences. Lebanese
cinema now also benefits from regular
external co-operation, thanks to the
conventional ties between artistic sentiments
and the needs of an audio-visual
industry in search of economic and
logistical support.
It seemed obvious to us, for all of the
above reasons, that Lebanon should be
given a prominent place at Visions du
Réel. We undoubtedly have a common
desire to see reality more clearly, as well
as to allow more people to share their
own visions. We are confident that the
selection of recent films we will screen
at the Festival, along with the presence
of several Lebanese filmmakers
and producers, will spur lively debate
and pave the way for new international
co-operation, thus demonstrating once
again that the reason why borders exist
is so they can be bridged.
Jasmin Basic