As the camera slowly pans out a cityscape partly in ruins, we hear distant yet piercing car horns. We discover Beirut, through the eyes of Ali Cherri, whose childhood was scarred by the Lebanese Civil War - probably just as much as the buildings that are unfolding on the screen. The ruined architecture of early 20th century Beirut collides with that of late Ottoman Beirut, until it is eaten away by a wall. This wall represents the perpetual political battlefield that is Beirut : photographs of politicians are plastered on it. Yet, the urban scenery that is unveiling is the product of a montage and is purely fictional. This is Cherri’s Beirut, the one he built up in his imagination while growing up. Beirut the battlefield could also be “Beirut the playground”, a utopic yet apocalyptic land. His voice describes the intimate presence of the war throughout his childhood. His words are haunting, for although he depicts being “freed from his shadow”, the artist’s voice expresses little relief. The war may be over, but the issue of identity remains. He evokes the discovery of his own identity, through the war and its end. The end of the war meant the discovery of a whole new city, and so he embarks us on a journey into his consciousness looking at post-war Beirut.

Reference AC-VVI-2005-A