The Tripoli International Cinema Festival launches from BAU

As Beirut Arab University has always played a major role in spreading and nourishing culture, the “Tripoli International Cinema Festival” launched its activities under the title of “Cultural Resistance” through a Press Conference held at Beirut Campus announcing the commencement of the festival from the 14th till the 21st of November, 2013. The Festival will close then with a discussion of the works of late movie director, Henri Barakat, whose films will be screened on campus in both Beirut and Tripoli.

 

The Press Conference was attended by a crowd of experts and interested people, in addition to Mrs. Zahida Darwish, Secretary General of the National Committee at UNESCO, and Mrs. Zina Ariss, Director of Public Relations Administration at BAU. Mr. Vincent Geisser and Mr. Bruno Dewailly, Researchers at the “Institut Française du Proche- Orient” spoke, pointing out that Tripoli was chosen for this Festival to bring its cultural and human role into the limelight, and to open the horizons of people interested in the cultural scene to the importance of the city. The speakers further pointed to the great human and sectarian diversity of Tripoli, and the role this plays in depicting a cultural and civilizational image.

The researchers also called for the necessity of eliminating the political overtones ruling the city, and to admit that the main cause behind Tripoli’s suffering is the constantly growing gap between the rich and the poor. A further cause the absence of the role played by the intelligentsia. 

The speakers then pointed out the importance of the Festival in encouraging researchers to relinquish prejudices leveled against, and to avoid depicting it as a city of violence. Tripoli should be presented in a more attractive light through the dispersal of certain problematics in the city and the concentration on its suffering. This can be achieved by benefiting from the cultural and educational factors that can narrate the daily reality.

The attendees then watched the movie “Fi Baitina Rajul” (A Man in Our House) by Director Henri Barakat. More films by the same director will be screened during this week.

The reason for choosing the movies of Henri Barakat is his dramatic depiction of women’s issues, freedom and liberation without resorting to sensationalism or exaggerated mottos. The Director was also known for his observation of human rights in his depiction of the rebellion against unjust social restrictions. Thus, these issues are relevant with the suffering Tripoli is witnessing.