Akil Cinema in Dubai will lend a hand in Lebanon with its crisis projections in Beirut on August 14 and 15.
In partnership with distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Kuwait National Cinema Company, the signature cinema will be “West Beirut” and “Where Do We Go Now?” By Ziad Doueiri. By Nadine Labaki
All proceeds from the sale of price tickets go into the Lebanese Red Cross’s aid efforts.
The move comes after the fatal August 4 explosion in Beirut that killed more than 200 people and injured thousands more.
The incident was another blow to a country facing an economic crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread citizen protests.
“West Beirut” and “Where We’re Going Now” are a mirror image of a Lebanese society that, through unity, works to succeed on situations of volatile political geography, Front Row EXECUTIVE Director Gianluca Chakra said in a statement. “These films also bear within them the scars felt by the Lebanese who lived and survived the war.”
Chakra adds: “I am part Lebanese and spent much of my youth at school and college in Beirut. The same goes for some members of our team. The position is close and expensive for our hearts. Seeing the pain caused by this explosion actually affected us all on Front Row and those screenings with our close partners Cinema Akil are for me a way to give back to my native country I have confidence in other Lebanese people and their ability to succeed over the tragedy and move on. “
“West Beirut” (1998) is Ziad Doueiri’s first feature film and is filmed in a cinematic style. The film chronicles the lives of two schoolmates who introduce a series of misadventures as they toured the city at the start of the Lebanese Civil War.
On Nadine Labaki’s feminist theme, “Where are we going now?” (2011) follows the population of a small village in the mountains of Lebanon as an organization that seeks to ease tensions between Christians and Muslims.
Located on Alserkal Avenue, Al Quoz, tickets for Akil cinema screenings charge 50 Dh plus VAT and can be purchased online.
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