Liberatory Visions 02: Lebanon, A Piece of Sky

Liberatory Visions 02: Lebanon, A Piece of Sky
In order for me to write poetry that isn’t political
I must listen to the birds
and in order to hear the birds
the warplanes must be silent.
– Marwan Makhoul
Join us for the second event in the Liberatory Visions series, a thought-provoking exploration of freedom, resistance and liberation through independent film, talks and workshops. Two recent films by contemporary Lebanese filmmakers Lawrence Abu Hamdan and Dania Bdeir take us to the skies above Beirut:
The Diary of a Sky, Lawrence Abu Hamdan (2024), 45min
As a large part of the world is brought to a standstill by the pandemic and an unprecedented silence takes hold, artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan sets out to document the noise level in Beirut, which has dramatically increased. The roar of generators, working hard to make up for the lack of electricity – a reflection of the complete indifference of the Lebanese state – is mingled with the dull roar of Israeli army drones and fighter planes flying over the country relentlessly, and which the artist inventories using data collected from the United Nations digital library, in a website of his own creation. Thanks to its particularly astute and eloquent narration and editing, The Diary of a Sky offers an ironic yet serious examination of the militarisation of airspace and its use as a training ground, whose scope broadens to include global politics, ecology, the unbridled investment of nations in military aviation, as well as conspiracy theories and the disinformation rife on social media.
Warsha, Dania Bdeir (2022), 15min
Mohammad is a crane operator working in Beirut. One morning he volunteers to take on one of the tallest and notoriously most dangerous cranes in Lebanon. Up in the skies, away from everyone’s eyes, he is able to live out his passion; finding freedom and a moment of personal liberation.
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All profits from this event will be split between Mayli Library and The Great Oven, two local initiatives in Lebanon providing emergency relief to people displaced as a result of Israel’s ongoing attacks in the region.
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This event is part of Liberatory Visions, a new event series exploring themes of freedom, resistance and liberation through independent film, talks and workshops. Our hope is for the series to inspire cross-movement solidarity and collaboration. No one is free until we’re all free; we invite attendees to collectively imagine and contribute to a future where this vision is a reality.
The title of this latest edition was inspired by Wadih El Safi’s Lebnan Ya Ot’et Same