Beirut city make-up
Director Kathrine van Beelen Granlund
Countries Norway
Duration 10 min
Synopsis
The backdrops covering the constructions sites represent a future, a past or a fantasy and provide the city with many layers., The subject of the film is Beirut in an intermediate period with an uncertain future. The residents are in despair caused by the political power struggle involving participants outside Lebanon’s borders. At the same time you will always be struck by the Lebanese’s ability to continue with their lives and the construction work despite their troubles., “Beirut city make-up” was filmed by photographer Gorm K. Gaare wile visiting Beirut between 2005 and 2014. During this period the (re-) construction work is carry on with some backlashes in periods with conflict. Some buildings, like the Mohammed Al-Amin Mosque is shown in the film on different work stages. Some office-buildings that were freshly build and ready to be inhabited in 2005 are still empty and starting to decay in 2014. , When the civil war went on, Hotel St. George was in the heart of it and was badly damaged. In 2005 it was freshly renovated and not yet in use, as a car bomb attack on Hariri killed the president and the Hotel was again in ruins. The Hotel is shown in the film and is a symbol for the fragility of the city structure and the situation of the inhabitants in Beirut. , The film has the form of a triptych and can be seen as a formal experiment reflecting the many layers of the city., The construction process is a matter of course in any documentary representation. The use of split-screen in the editing challenges the linear viewing experience as several motifs can be shown simultaneously. The three motifs are communicating with each other in different ways: commenting on each other, fulfilling messages and showing contrasts. Through this form the viewer can, with his/her gaze, search and participate in the construction of the portrait of the city.
The backdrops covering the constructions sites represent a future, a past or a fantasy and provide the city with many layers., The subject of the film is Beirut in an intermediate period with an uncertain future. The residents are in despair caused by the political power struggle involving participants outside Lebanon’s borders. At the same time you will always be struck by the Lebanese’s ability to continue with their lives and the construction work despite their troubles., “Beirut city make-up” was filmed by photographer Gorm K. Gaare wile visiting Beirut between 2005 and 2014. During this period the (re-) construction work is carry on with some backlashes in periods with conflict. Some buildings, like the Mohammed Al-Amin Mosque is shown in the film on different work stages. Some office-buildings that were freshly build and ready to be inhabited in 2005 are still empty and starting to decay in 2014. , When the civil war went on, Hotel St. George was in the heart of it and was badly damaged. In 2005 it was freshly renovated and not yet in use, as a car bomb attack on Hariri killed the president and the Hotel was again in ruins. The Hotel is shown in the film and is a symbol for the fragility of the city structure and the situation of the inhabitants in Beirut. , The film has the form of a triptych and can be seen as a formal experiment reflecting the many layers of the city., The construction process is a matter of course in any documentary representation. The use of split-screen in the editing challenges the linear viewing experience as several motifs can be shown simultaneously. The three motifs are communicating with each other in different ways: commenting on each other, fulfilling messages and showing contrasts. Through this form the viewer can, with his/her gaze, search and participate in the construction of the portrait of the city.