Dancing Beirut
Fall Grant 2012 - Development Stage
Alia Hamdan, Fares Chalabi / Feature Experimental or Essay / Lebanon, Qatar / 2014 / 50 min / Colour and B&W / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Politics, Musical
Synopsis
A group of dancers wander through Beirut, looking for spaces where they can generate visual, sonic and psychological rhythms from the surfaces, situations and landscapes of the city. They deal with street signs, cars, sidewalks, parking lots, highways, staircases, archaeological sites, beaches, neighbourhoods… Their itineraries connect these different places in a choreographic narrative that attempts to reveal the emotional heart of Beirut, focusing on the physical aspects of the relationship between the city and its inhabitants. The film is conceived as a movement manifesto or moving poem, dedicated to the city of Beirut.
Credits
- Director
- Alia Hamdan, Fares Chalabi
- Screenwriter
- Fares Chalabi
- Producer
- Alia Hamdan, Fares Chalabi, Claudia Rose Lewis
About the Director
Alia Hamdan was born in Beirut in 1979. After finishing her Masters degree in philosophy and urban studies and her dance training in Paris, she returned to Beirut, where she works as an urban researcher and dance performer. In April 2011, she co-authored a performance at the BIPOD festival (Beirut), based on building links between cinema and live performance.
Fares Chalabi was born in Beirut in 1977, where he studied philosophy and architecture. He left Beirut for Paris in 2003 to study philosophy. From 2005 to 2007, he worked in Indonesia for the Red Cross on the post-tsunami relief programme. Chalabi currently teaches philosophy at the American University in Beirut, and art theory at the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts.