Sights of Memory – Films from Lebanon

Although the Lebanon War (1975–1990) ended over 20 years ago, it is still very present in the films of Lebanese directors today. The artistic examination of the country's past is directed against the state-endorsed collective amnesia that wants to prevent an open debate about the war and the accompanying questions of guilt and atonement. There has not yet been a national dialogue about the war and the crimes committed in the war in Lebanon, no sentencing of the perpetrators, and no official discourse of memory or consensus on how to write history. The general amnesty of 1991 was supposed to close the chapter of the civil war definitively.

Against this backdrop, the "Sights of Memory" program organized by Arsenal and the ZMO (Center of Modern Oriental Studies) presents eight films that deal with the open wounds of the conflict from today's perspective. The selection of essay films, documentaries and features made between 2005 and 2012 – most of which are being screened in Berlin for the first time – offers an insight into a deeply traumatized society that is fragmented along sectarian and political lines and in which the repercussions of war can be felt everywhere. With aesthetically varied approaches and taking different perspectives they open up alternative views of the civil war and its consequences, provide a contribution to the appraisal of Lebanon's collective history and not only call for the past to be examined but hint at its very presence today. The thematic aspects of the films are as varied as is their form: meetings between victims and perpetrators, the reconstruction of failed revolutionary utopias, the painful wait for the return of those who vanished during the war, emotional isolation, as well as an exploration of the city of Beirut. The films also register the latent tensions in Lebanese society now and testify to a fragile situation of political uncertainty. In order to enable a dialogue between the past and the present, a culture of memory is necessary. "Sights of Memory" presents films which use artistic means to drive forward the production of memory and are themselves sites of memory.

We are very glad that four filmmakers from Lebanon will be at Arsenal to discuss their films with the audience - Eliane Raheb, Ghassan Salhab and Rania and Raed Rafei. Moreover, on 29.9., a podium discussion with the directors, as well as Irit Neidhardt (mec film) and Rabih El-Khoury (Metropolis Art Cinema, Beirut) will look at the conditions for filmmaking in Lebanon today.