Gahzl El-Banat

Jocelyne Saab (1948–2019), libanesische Journalistin und Pionierin des „cinéma engagé“, hat stets die Ungerechtigkeiten in den Krisenherden des Nahen Ostens und Nordafrikas auf- und angezeigt. In ihrem ersten Spielfilm erzählt sie vor dem Hintergrund des Bürgerkriegs in Beirut die Geschichte der Amour fou zwischen der 14- jährigen Samar und dem desillusionierten Maler Karim. Eine Liebe ohne Zukunft, leichthändig inszeniert mit einem Hauch von Melancholie. „Ich habe versucht, die Kultur, die wir früher hatten, wiederzubeleben. Darin besteht meine Ablehnung der Realität. Und aus diesem Grund fordere ich die Menschen auf zu träumen.“ (Jocelyne Saab) (Bernd Brehmer) 

The effects of war are everywhere in Jocelyne Saab’s first fiction feature GHAZL EL-BANAT, which was shot during the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990). They can be seen in Beirut’s toppled buildings, the mounds of rubble that rearrange the streets, and in the private anguish of the residents who must decide whether to leave or to stay. Middle-aged artist Karim (Jacques Weber) is in the latter camp. Previously a militant, he now paints to the sound of mortar shells. In his canvasses, the young Samar (Hala Bassam) sees “things intertwined with each other,” a statement which equally describes the bond that forms between them. Her father says she is fifteen, but atop the Old Manara, a lighthouse painted in black and white stripes, she tells Karim she is four or five thousand years old. As if in a trance, she says her name is Beirut. Perhaps this is why none of the gunfire startles her, and why she is so drawn to Karim, whose paintings are full of life. Whether as an analogue for the city or a girl who has come of age during war, Samar is touched with sadness, drifting through the streets as though weightless. Amid the wreckage, she finds refuge in Karim’s paintings and in the abandoned theatre where she and Karim finally take the stage. (Genevieve Yue)

Jocelyne Saab: LEBANON IN TURMOIL (1975, K), BEIRUT, NEVER AGAIN (1976, K), CHILDREN OF WAR (1976, K), SOUTH LEBANON: STORY OF A LAND (1977, K), LETTER FROM BEIRUT (1982, K), PARISIAN LADY (1982, K), ONCE UPON A TIME, BEIRUT (1995), DUNIA: KISS ME NOT ON THE EYES (2005