Cinema
West Beirut
بيروت الغربية
Ziad Doueiri · 1998
Synopsis
On 13 April 1975, the first day of the civil war, Tarek, a teenager in West Beirut, sees fighting break out around him. With his friend Omar, he films the city on Super 8; his school, on the other side of the demarcation line, becomes inaccessible to him. The two boys befriend May, a young Christian orphan from their building, and their escapades take them as far as a well-known brothel in the city, while tensions rise in Tarek's family and the war stops being an adventure.
Context
Written and directed by its author, the film is produced by 3B Production and La Sept/Arte; it is spoken in Arabic and French. In 1998 it wins the François-Chalais Prize at the Directors' Fortnight of the Cannes Film Festival, then the International Critics' Prize in Toronto, and Lebanon submits it for the Oscars. It is released in France on 16 December 1998 under the title West Beyrouth (À l'abri les enfants).
Who it is for
A coming-of-age story about the first weeks of the war, which can be seen in the original version with subtitles.
Prizes and reception
Its author's first feature film, recognised as soon as it was presented at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.
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