Lebanon puts women in the spotlight of this 7th art festival

Sam Lahoud, actor, scriptwriter and producer, dreams above all to make cinema the engine of progress in Lebanon. Co-founder of the Beirut Film Society, Sam Lahoud has initiated a large gathering of film enthusiasts, and has multiplied events to raise awareness about responsible cinema. The Beirut Film Society’s mission is to support the film industry by strengthening and nurturing talent and creativity and, most importantly, to communicate Lebanon’s social responsibility in the Arab world and beyond.

 

Responsible and Feminist Cinema

The International Women’s Film Festival honors women on screen and behind the camera, and thus aims at two main objectives: first, to give more opportunities to women in the audio-visual professions, and second, to change the perceptions of women in the region. The festival also aims to educate, with a variety of activities including workshops and conferences.

The Beirut Film Society has also set up the Girls For Change program to train Lebanese and Syrian girls aged 13 to 18 living in the most vulnerable areas of Lebanon in audiovisual professions. So far, 450 girls, some of them illiterate, have taken advantage of this opportunity and have had the chance to make their own short films.

Becoming a model for the region

The festival has forged close ties with other festivals around the world, allowing for the export of Lebanese works with an emphasis on female potential abroad. Its international network makes the voice of Lebanese women resound loud and clear and enlightens the Eastern societies. The Beirut festival is gradually strengthening its partnerships with other events in the region such as the Palestinian festival, Shashat, and the Aswan festival for women in Egypt.