''West Beirut'' (french: West Beyrouth (À l'abri les enfants); ar, بيروت الغربية ()) is a 1998
Lebanese drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
, written and directed by
Ziad Doueiri
Ziad Doueiri ( ar , زياد دويري ; born October 7, 1963) is a Lebanese film director, cinematographer and writer. He is best known for his award-winning films ''West Beirut'' (1998) and '' The Insult'' (2017), a film that was nominated a ...
. The film was selected as the Lebanese entry for the
Best Foreign Language Film at the
71st Academy Awards
The 71st Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best of 1998 in film and took place on March 21, 1999, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p ...
, but was not accepted as a nominee.
[Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]
Plot
In April 1975,
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
breaks out;
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
is partitioned along a
line separating the Muslim-Christian mixed West Beirut from the quasi-Christian East Beirut. After the line was created, Tarek is now considered to live in West Beirut (the mixed part and Tarek is Muslim himself) and is in high school, making Super 8 movies with his friend, Omar. At first the war is a lark: school has closed (and is situated in East Beirut no longer accessible to West Beirut residents), the violence is fascinating, getting from West to East is a game. His mother wants to leave the country; but his father refuses. Tarek spends time with May, an orphaned Christian girl living in his building. By accident, Tarek goes to an infamous brothel in the war-torn Zeytouni Quarter, meeting its legendary madam, Oum Walid. He then takes Omar and May there. Family tensions rise. Later on and as he comes of age, the war moves inexorably from adventure to a nationwide tragedy.
Cast
* Rami Doueiri as Tarek
*
Mohamad Chamas
Mohamad Chamas is a Lebanese actor. In 1998 he was living in an orphanage, and had no acting experience, when director Ziad Doueiri cast him in a leading role in the critically acclaimed film ''West Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the c ...
as Omar
* Rola Al-Amin as May
*
Carmen Lebbos
Carmen Lebbos ( ar, كارمن لبّس; born 22 February 1963) is a Lebanese theater, television, and film actress who has worked in film, television actress. Lebbos has been active since 1981; she has been in several television series and movi ...
as Hala, Tarek's mother
*
Joseph Bou Nassar as Riad, Tarek's father
*
Liliane Nemri
Liliane Nemri ( ar, ليليان نمري) is a Lebanese actress and comedian who has acted in Lebanese movies and series.
Filmography
TV series
*Abou Melhem
*Al 3a2ila al sa3ida
*Al Mo3allima wal Ostaz
*Sett El habayeb Ya Baba
*Bentein w Sa ...
as Nahida (a neighbor)
*
Leïla Karam as Brothel Madam (Oum Walid)
* Hassan Farhat as Roadblock Militiaman
*
Mahmoud Mabsout as Baker
*
Fadi Abou Khalil as Bakery Militiaman
Awards
* ''
Prix François Chalais
Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who a ...
'' at the
Directors' fortnight
The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festiv ...
of the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
(1998)
* ''FIPRESCI International Critics' Award'' at the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...
(1998)
* ''Best First Film'' at the
Carthage Film Festival (1998)
* ''Youth Jury Award'' at the
Valladolid International Film Festival
The Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as Seminci (short for ; ), is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain. First held in 1956 as ('Valladolid Religious Film Week'), the Seminci is one of the longest-standing fi ...
(1998)
* ''SAA Script Award'' at the
Fribourg International Film Festival
The Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF) is an annual film festival in Fribourg, Switzerland. It is focused on selected films from Asia, Africa and Latin America. The Grand Prize is the main award of the Fribourg International Film Festival ...
(1999)
See also
*
*
References
External links
*
1998 films
1990s war drama films
1990s Arabic-language films
Lebanese Civil War films
Films set in 1975
Films scored by Stewart Copeland
Lebanese drama films
1998 drama films
Films directed by Ziad Doueiri
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