Wednesday October 24, 2018: A press conference was held today at the Metropolis-Empire-Sofil to announce the 4th edition of the Beirut Art Film Festival (BAFF) in the presence of the Belgian ambassador H.E. Hubert Cooreman, the General Director of the Ministry of Tourism Nada Sardouk, the Deputy Head of Mission of the Spanish Embassy Gabriel de Chinchetru, the Deputy Head of Mission of the Swiss Embassy Elisabeth Gilgen, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy Ed White, the Economy and Cultural Attachée at the Japanese Embassy Ai Odoriba, the Director of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura Monica Zecca, Sanaa Hammoud representing the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the Founder of the Beirut Art Film Festival Alice Mogabgab Karam, the members of the committee Maria Chakhtoura and Nadine Mokdessi, as well as representatives of the partner institutions.
During the press conference, the documentary Niemeyer 4 Ever (2018, 30′, Arabic with English Subtitles) was presented in Avant-Première. The documentary is directed by Nicolas Khoury and produced by Beirut Art Film Festival with the contribution of Robert Fadel (ABC) and Pierre El Daher (LBCI). In partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, BAFF goes back to one of Lebanon’s flagship projects in the 1960s: the “Rachid Karamé International Fair”, a ghost town in Tripoli, signed by the Brazilian Oscar Niemeyer, an icon of architecture in the 20th century.Nada Sardouk said in this regard: “The dream was shattered and the spaces were emptied of their content, the time froze with a narrow horizon. But this unfinished dream was born again today through art, photography and creativity.”
For four years now, BAFF has grown due to the combined generosity of loyal Lebanese and international patrons, sponsors, cultural partners and a group of dynamic and motivated volunteers.
For this year, BAFF also shall be inaugurating new, dynamic and committed partnerships with: The Ministry of Education & Higher Education who is supporting the program of BAFF @ Schools 2018, The Embassy of the United States contributing as well to BAFF @ Schools 2018, the Swiss Embassy with the launch of the awareness campaign “No WATER, No LIFE”, and the Ministry of Tourism for the launching of a series of documentaries on national heritage, and where every year a film will be produced by BAFF, and screened in Lebanon and overseas.
For art only touches the heart if and when it engages in the human and social life of the city in which it develops, BAFF therefore partners with the ‘community’, giving 5 evenings events to 5 Lebanese NGOs, whose credo is solidarity: AFEL, Brave Heart, Myschoolpulse, The Youth of the Order of Malta and CAP-HO.
Alice Mogabgab said: “The Beirut Art Film Festival 2018 is resolutely looking towards “Tomorrow” and dedicates this 4th edition to the youth, to a better environment, and to change.”
The fourth edition of BAFF is held under the theme of “Tomorrow”:
- Tomorrow is commitment towards youth.
- Tomorrow is urgency to protect the environment.
- Tomorrow is most importantly the hope to change the future, through the lessons from the past!
BAFF in two stages
- From 1 to 30 November 2018, BAFF Extramuros sets out to meet the public audience outside of the capital, organizing screenings in schools, universities, cultural centers.
- From 20 to 25 November 2018, BAFF Intramuros takes over the Metropolis-Empire-Sofil’s two cinemas where sixty documentaries on art and culture will be screened.
BAFF Extramuros
- BAFF (Loves) Lebanon. BAFF inaugurates its 4th edition with cultural centers in Beirut and the regions. More than forty documentaries are scheduled on Saturday 3, 10, 17 & 24 November to bring art and cinema closer to the Lebanese. Free entrance.
- BAFF 4 Youth. From November 1 to 19, the festival sets out to meet university students in the 13 Lebanese universities, where documentaries will be screened in campuses across Lebanon. Access to these screenings is free and open to all: students, teachers and public of all ages.
- BAFF @ Schools. From November 1 to 30, the festival shall take to all schools across Lebanon the two documentaries: Lady Liberty (2014, 60’, Mark Daniels) and We Made Every Living Thing from Water (2018, 30’, Paul Cochrane).
BAFF Intramuros
BAFF Intramuros will take place from 20th to 25th November at Metropolis – Empire -Sofil in Achrafieh. The opening ceremony will be held on Tuesday, November 20th at 7:00 pm in both cinemas with the World Premiere of Josephine Baker, The Story of an Awakening (2018, 52′, Ilana Navaro, English) in the presence of the director, in partnership with the United States Embassy; and Maurice Béjart, l’âme de la danse (2017, 65′, Henri de Gerlache, French) in partnership with the Swiss Embassy.
Sixty documentaries will be screened around the following themes: architecture, dance, painting, art, archeology, music, design, photography, heritage and also the environment.
Full program on www.bafflebanon.org
Hats Off 2018
BAFF’s Hats Off will go this year to a leading figure of early Lebanese cinema, Georges Nasser, on Thursday, November 22 at 6:00 pm, with two documentaries L’Artisanat au Liban (1960, 24′, French version) and Un Certain Nasser (2017, 65′, Badih Massaad and Antoine Waked, Arabic with French subtitles).
22 November 2018
The organizers of BAFF dedicate the programming of November 22 to Lebanon with the following:
- Tomorrow
No Water No Life
“Tomorrow” is at the heart of this national day with the alarming question of the environment in Lebanon. The documentary We Made Every Living Thing from Water (2018, 43′, Paul Cochrane/AUB, Arabic and English, English subtitles) is a finding of the extent of the damage. The film is based on scientific information and interviews of water specialists. Solutions are urgently needed. A round table organized by Human Rights Watch will address the issue. In the meantime, the awareness campaign No Water, No Life! was launched in partnership with the Swiss Embassy.
- Tripoli
A program is dedicated to Tripoli on the 22nd of November with the following movies:
Mar10 – I’m bored. Aren’t you bored? (2018, 18’, Firas Hallak, Arabic, English subtitles), Niemeyer 4 Ever (2018, 30’, Nicolas Khoury, Arabic, French or English subtitles), and Hat off 2018 to Georges Nasser (Lebanese director born in Tripoli in 1927).
Closing Ceremony
The closing ceremony of BAFF 4th edition is in partnership with TV5 Monde and the Institut du monde arabe – Paris, on Friday November 30 at the Institut Français – Beirut, with the following films: Les Yeux de la parole (2016, 80’, David Daurier and Jean-Marie Montangerand, French, Arabic and English, French subtitles) at 6:00 pm and Kalila wa Dimna (2016, 95’, Opera by Moneim Adwan, Arabic and French, French subtitles) at 8:00 pm.
The Patrons of the Beirut Art Film Festival
Bankmed Group (BAFF sponsor), The Robert A. Matta Foundation, The Alexis & Anne-Marie Habib Foundation, Embassy of the United States in Lebanon
Cultural Partners
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Ministry of Tourism, British Embassy, Embassy of the United States, Acción Cultural Española and Embassy of Spain, Embassy of Switzerland, Embassy of Japan and NHK – Nippon Hoso Kyokai, Embassy of Belgium, Embassy of Sweden, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia and Consulate of Estonia in Lebanon, l’Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Institute of the Arab World, Institut français du Liban, Goethe-Institut Libanon, Paris Opera – 3e Scène, AUB Archeological Museum, Exotica
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