ABU DHABI // Beirut once prided itself as being the "Paris of the Middle East". But Samir Habchi's Beirut: Open City, which had its Middle Eastern premiere last night, shows the city's dark side in a bleak period of its history. Starring Khaled el Nabawi, the film is set in the Lebanese capital after the country's civil war. It is a voyage through the city's underworld, teeming with shadowy intelligence agents, torture chambers and prostitutes.
From the Taif Agreement of 1989, to the assassination of the former prime minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005 and the withdrawal of Syrian military forces, the film confronts the brutal realities of oppression and abuses of power, issues which the director hopes will provoke reflection across the region. Mr Habchi said the years of oppression suffered in Lebanon was something very close to his heart. Every movie he makes comes from personal experiences, and the inspiration for his latest feature came from losing many family members during the war.
"I hope that Arabs and non-Arabs alike can see from this film what oppression we have suffered. I long for a truly free Lebanon." Even though Lebanon is still politically divided, he feels Beirut lives up to its comparison to the French capital and has tried to show and discuss this in the film. It is, he said, the most diverse country in the region, culturally, religiously and politically. Set in the 1990s, at the height of the Syrian occupation, his film follows an Egyptian actor and photojournalist (Nabawi), as he travels to Lebanon to film the brutal interrogation methods used against dissidents by the intelligence services in the country.
"I hope that everyone who sees the film will consider the issues of power and oppression as concepts to apply all over the world and this region," said Mr Habchi. He admitted he feared "the people in power" might not like his critical portrayal of the country's leaders. Although he prefers not to align himself with any political party, his film is overtly political. "Politicians come and go," he said, "but with film, it doesn't matter who is in power, the issues remain the same and we need to keep fighting the oppression."
* Tomorrow will see the screening of Fawzia: A Special Blend, from the Egyptian director Magdi Ahmed Ali at the Emirates Palace hotel at 6pm. Following at 9.30pm is Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love, by the director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, which documents the challenges faced by the Senegalese musician following the release of his 2004 album, Egypt. mswan@thenational.ae