'A real thirst for art': After months of war, Beirut's appetite for cinema is undiminished

Thousands of people attended the 20th Beirut Shorts International Film Festival, an annual event celebrating short films from Lebanon and around the world.

Held at the landmark Metropolis Cinema in Beirut’s Mar Mikhael district from November 2 to 6, the event that places particular emphasis on emerging filmmakers and young talent drew 3,500 attendees, co-founder and director Sam Lahoud said.

“People are eager to see each other again and experience live, interactive events. I’m not surprised by the turnout, but I’m very happy about it. There’s a real thirst for art and social connection,” said Lebanese actress Wafa Halawi, who served on the jury for Beirut Sparks, a competition dedicated to student productions and one of the festival’s seven sections.

The festival drew large crowds despite fears of renewed violence and widespread fatigue after months of full-scale war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which erupted in March.

Show caption: A packed audience attends a screening of short films at Metr…

Israeli strikes killed more than 4,300 people and Isreal has occupied parts of southern Lebanon. Dozens of Israeli soldiers and civilians were killed in the fighting.

Founded in 2007 and organised by the Beirut Film Society under the theme The Power of Youth, the festival has grown into one of Beirut’s most prestigious events dedicated to short films, showcasing fiction, documentaries, animation, experimental films and new media productions.

It is also Lebanon’s first Oscar-qualifying film festival, with winners in three categories eligible for consideration for the Academy Awards.

This year's top awards went to A Few Moments of Happiness by Shaden Tazi, named Best Lebanese Short Film, and 67 Milliseconds by French duo Galdric Fleury and Antoine Fontaine, named Best International Short Film, while The Comet by Julie Charette won Best Animation.

Show caption: Sam Lahoud is the director of the Beirut Shorts Internationa…

As I Lay Dying by Mohammadreza Farzad and Pegah Ahangarani won Best Documentary, Paper Life by An Chu won Best Live Action, and Nobody Barks by Julia Coldwell Serra received a special mention.

No Dead Ends, co-directed by AFP photojournalist Christina Assi and Rani Nasser, won the Audience Choice Award.

Assi lost her leg in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon in 2023.

“Honestly, I didn't expect such overwhelming positive feedback or such a great turnout,” Assi told The National. “I was beyond happy to share this film with everyone we love, right here in my home country where I was targeted simply for doing my job It healed something in me."

The attack, which hit a group of clearly identified journalists despite the absence of any military target in the area, according to multiple investigations, killed Assi's colleague and friend, Reuters videojournalist Issam Abdallah.

No Dead Ends, which chronicles her journey to recovery and fight against impunity, drew prolonged applause at its international premiere in Beirut.

“I want the audience to realise that behind every targeted journalist, there is a human being whose life was forever changed. People tend to forget that we aren't just numbers,” she said.

Show caption: Christina Assi, who lost her leg in an Israeli strike in sou…

This year's winning Lebanese films reflected the country's recent unrest. In A Few Moments of Happiness, Tazi explores the anguish of watching her country being destroyed from afar.

Tazi, who also won the prestigious Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film at the Venice Film Festival in September, described receiving the Lebanese award as particularly “symbolic”. It was her first time returning to Lebanon in two and a half years. She had left Beirut for Paris in autumn 2024, as Israeli bombardment intensified while she was working on her film. She finished her movie abroad with a $1,000 budget.

Seeing the cinema packed showed “a beautiful sign of vitality in a country”, she said.

“In France, there’s no war, yet cinemas are empty. Cinema is a place of refuge. People want to experience emotions and confront them. It didn’t surprise me. Lebanese people are very supportive of their artists. They champion them and give them visibility,” she said.