IN THE SHADOWS OF THE CITY (Taïf al madina)

January 12 (Saturday) 8:30 pm

Directed by Jean Khalil Chamoun France/Lebanon 2000, 35mm, color, 100 min. With Majdi Machmouchi, Ammar Chalak, Christine Choueiri Arabic with English subtitles

To escape the civil war between Christians and Muslims, a family moves from the countryside to Beirut--only to be caught in an equally dangerous situation. The film revisits the decade and a half of civil war in Lebanon that ended in 1990 through the eyes of Rami, following the boy from age twelve to adulthood as his family struggles with unemployment, death, and the disappearance of loved ones. Documentary filmmaker Jean Khalil Chamoun, in his first fiction film, combines archival footage and a verite style to create a harrowing overview of the senseless conflict that left his country in physical and moral tatters. Yet even as he funnels this history through his young protagonist, he invests the shadows of the past with “noble dreams and precious memories.”

In the Shadows of the City’ gennemspiller borgerkrigen i Libanon fra de første israelske missiler blev afsendt mod mål i den sydlige del af landet i 1975 til krigen sluttede i 1990. Uden at tage parti, eller for den sag skyld at identificere konfliktens parter som henholdsvis kristne og muslimer, tegner Jean Khalil Chamoun et såre realistisk billede at livet i en krigszone. Rent tematisk ligger filmen tæt på Ziad Doueiris ‘West Beyrouth’ (vist på NatFilm ‘99), men Chamoun er mindre nostalgisk i sit snit og mere konfronterende i sin stil. Instruktøren, der selv har arbejdet som krigskorrespondent, indrammer sin historie i nyhedsklip, som leverer den historiske og politiske baggrund for historien om den tolvårige Rami, der flytter til Beirut med sin familie. Her får han job som en slags stik-i-rend dreng på en livlig café, ejet af en enke med smag for livets goder. Og her møder hans flere af de figurer, der kommer til at tegne Chamouns karakterdrevne historie - og Ramis eget voksenliv. Den voksne Rami får arbejde som ambulancefører i den ruinhob, der er tilbage af barndommens Beirut. Da han og faderen kidnappes af nogle soldater, slipper han på mirakuløs vis fri, hvorefter han langt om længe tager parti i konflikten og slutter sig til byguerillaen. Udover at tegne et bevægende, tredimensionelt portræt af en mand, der gennemlever krigen uden at miste sin integritet, skal ‘In the Shadows of the City’ også anbefales for sine fint afrundede og sammensatte kvindeportrætter.

He mixed archived images and fiction. Chamoun paints the portrait of Lebanon that the generations knew as a country in war. The city spectrum isn't a film about the war, but it's a succession of charismatic portraits of men , women, and children in a country in the war. Rami, a twelve years old child, is obliged to leave his village in southern Lebanon under the Israeli army's bombs, and seek shelter in Beirut with his family. His father’s unemployment obliged him to leave school and work in a café. The civil war flared. The assassination of his friend the musician shocks him deeply. Yasmine, his friend, leaves the region. Twelve years later Rami and his father are kidnapped on the front line that divides the city. He escaped and joined the militia where he met Siham, a woman determined to find her husband...

More than 350,000 Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon, 15,000 of them in the refugee camp of Shatila in Beirut. Through the eyes of two children who live in this camp, Issa and Farah, this documentary explores the determination to keep family and dreams thriving in a landscape that has been sculpted by war, poverty, grief and displacement.

Issa, a little boy who lives with his grandfather, sustained severe injuries when he was hit by a speeding car and has trouble learning in school. Farah lives with her parents and two sisters. The children?s memories and history are shaped by the violence that surrounds them. Both have lost family in the massacres and attacks that followed the 1948 Diaspora and the 1982 invasion of Lebanon by Israel. An aunt was decapitated, an uncle shot ? every family and friend they know has lost someone to the violence.

The filmmaker gives Issa and Farah a small video camera to film their lives and learn how they see their own world. Both children start asking their elders how they felt about leaving Palestine. When queried about what he wants to tell the new generation of Palestinians, an old man asks that Palestine must never be forgotten. ?Promise me that,? he tells the children.

The poverty of Shatila offers little escape. Farah?s mother says that when her children tell her their dreams she feels ?awkward and afraid to shock them with the truth,? and wonders about the kind of future that lies ahead. Yet both children inspire viewers with their ability to keep their hearts and minds open. Farah tells a nursery class, ?Imagining is the main thing, even if you only draw a bird.? And Issa has a wonderful dream where he is a prince.

While the focus is on the lives of children, this documentary is not suitable for younger children. It is appropriate for mature young adults, and university and community audiences interested in learning about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, life in the refugee camps, and the lasting effects of war.

Hello alissandro I am fine , busy with the school , I am finishing the subjectes with my students , and preparing for the final examination , and I am looking and waiting the summer holiday , because I am tired from teaching , any way it is really nice to hear form you , and to know that you are starting to study arabic , it is really wonderful, I hope you will be good in arabic , I also know arabic is not easy but if you like the language you can learn fast , and roby tolled me that you are taking lissones it seemes nice so good luck , and also with your examinations. And to study two months in Damascus , it is good but it is hard if you want to comeback to palestine , so I don’t know what you should do , so I hope you will not have proplemes with this , and for your visiting in November , you are wellcoming any time , maybe we can have a chance to talk more, but I think it will be hard , because of our habites and tradition , ok you asked once about if the girl can travel , or if I can visit italy , well ali you sow mhannad my brother and I am sure you liked his mind and the way of thinking , and as you know he is pflp , but believe me he cant live away from the habites and tradition , even I don’t blame him , but I will tell you something, when mohannad had the chance to go to italy he was very happy and we where talking a lot a bout this with my uncle , and mohannad had the chance to take a girl with him from the camp , and this trip has lotes of both girles and boyes they go from my university so my uncle toled him you can take manar with you , specially my father will not say no because I will be with my brother and you could know what happened ? mohanad sayed no , he cant take me with him , and he talk with a girl from the camp to go with him, I remember this day I was very sad from him , ( he can go with girls ) you know why ? because he is ( MAN ) sorry for all what I say, it is a lot but I really feel sad a bout this ?? Thanks again for youre letter , and good luck with every thing you do in youre life Best wishes from me……

hi alessandro, i talked to amira and lucas about the film and none of us have seen it. we're trying to collect documentaries in the office so it would be really wonderful if you could make us a copy. do you have the pengon address? how is work on your documentary going? you must have a lot of footage to go through. not much good news here. the army continues to come to dheisheh almost nightly and have regularly arrested people. it was passover and easter last week so jerusalem was crazy with tourists here for holy days. many american jews walking around waving israeli flags. lots of press came to dheisheh in the past few days to see the refugees reaction to bush. they put ziad on bbc news. alright, i should go back to my piles. (i got through all the ones that were out when you were here but now am working on amira's office) take care and thank you.

josie and i haven't forgotten about the contact for the Canadian Film Festival. It's just been a little crazy lately because i had a big proposal due last week for Ibdaa. I will be back in Ibdaa on friday the 23rd and will hopefully be able to send you the information then.

U.S.A.

governo americano

presidente GeorgewBush

the Cabinet uyybzcfzesxbole Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman

Secretary of Commerce Don Evans

Secretary of Defense DonaldRumsfeld

Secretary of Education Rod Paige

Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham

Secretary of Health & Human Services Tommy Thompson

Secretary of Homeland Security TomRidge

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Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta

Secretary of Treasury John Snow

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi

Secretary of Housing & Urban Development Mel Martinez

Secretary of Interior GaleNorton

Attorney General John Ashcroft

Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao

consiglieri del presidente

Consigliere Di Sicurezza Nazionale CondoleezzaRice

ISRAELE

governo israeliano

ArielSharon - Prime Minister

(inoltre tiene le comunicazioni, l'alloggiamento e la costruzione, gli affari labor e sociali e le cartelle religiose di affari)

Meir Sheetrit - Minister without Portfolio