Beirut Animated

On Monday night Beirut’s first animated film festival opened in the city’s art house cinema, Metropolis. While a number of film festivals have taken place in the capital this autumn, Beirut Animated is one of the more alternative events, and the first of its kind in Lebanon.

Apart from the major Disney and Pixar productions showed in the country, Lebanese audiences have so far had scant possibilities to discover the rich and diverse world of animated film – something the Metropolis Association has worked to change by introducing a five-day festival in association with Samandal Magazine and with the cooperation of Beirut DC.

Hania Mroue, director of the Metropolis Association and one of the main organizers of the festival, said that even though interest in animated film has grown in Lebanon over the past couple of years, there have been no specialized events until now.

“In most of the film festivals in Lebanon there is an animation presentation, and the cinema is always packed on these occasions. People seem very curious to discover different kinds of films,” she said, noting that the documentary is another example of “alternative” film that has gained popularity in Lebanon over the past couple of years.

To judge from the large turnout at the opening of the festival on a rainy Monday night, interest in animation in Beirut is indeed large. The cinema was fully packed with a young, cheering audience when the festival’s first two films were presented: the Lebanese video clip “Takhabbot” (2009) and the American feature “Sita Sings the Blues” (2008).

The main opening film, by American Nina Paley, is an autobiography combined with the retelling of the classical Indian myth Ramayana. In a jumble of different animation styles, narration forms and music, the film tells a simple but dramatic love story at a hectic pace, proving that animation can be an intense experience.

The Lebanese “Takhabbot” (“Inner struggle”) is a five-minute video clip by the upcoming Lebanese illustrator and animator Ghassan Halwani set to the music of Palestinian composer Tamer Abu Ghazaleh.

By showing Beirut’s devastated old buildings set against the new showy ones in both black-and-white and gaudy colors, the video is a personal reflection on the reconstruction of the city and how it affects Beirutis.

“We Beirutis don’t feel that we have a part in the reconstruction. We get a feeling that the city is moving away from us and that we are losing it,” director Ghassan Halwani told NOW Extra.

“Takhabbot”, which was met by a cheering audience on Monday night, is Halwani’s second film to be presented at a festival; his first animated film “Jibraltar” (2005) has been screened at several film festivals in Beirut.

While Beirut Animated shows many Lebanese works, the festival is indeed an international event, with films from more than 20 countries - from Japan to Italy, from Hungary to Tunisia - on show. With a handful of features and more than 30 short films, the audience gets a chance to see quite a selection of animated work, both classic and new. Many of the newer films are premiering in Lebanon at the festival.

Hania Mroue says the festival gives the audience a broad presentation of the genre and says she rejects the typical classification of Arab and international film.

“Of course we want to promote Arab and local films, but we have to give the Lebanese audience a chance to see what is happening outside too. A Lebanese could as well be inspired by a film from Chile as one from Lebanon,” she said.

Yet she says that the development of animation in the Arab world still needs a push forward. The Iranian feature animated film “Persepolis” (2007) drew attention to the region, but the market is still small.

“There are a few interesting experiences in the Arab world now, and we have to give them attention. If you show that there is an audience, there will be more possibilities for animation here in the future,” Mroue told NOW Extra.

Apart from the features and short films, the festival also offers alternative arrangements, including a screening of episodes from the classic Japanese anime TV series “Grendizer” dubbed in to Arabic, and a cine-concert.

On the festival’s closing night, the first European animated film, “The Adventures of Prince Achmed” (1926), will be screened accompanied by a musical performance by the experimental Lebanese band XEFM. The band has composed a soundtrack especially for the movie, which is a silent film. And even though the festival is not aimed at children, there will be two screenings for a young audience: The Japanese “Ponyo” on Thursday and the Syrian “Thread of Life” on Friday.

Hania Mroue is excited about the festival, which she says will be a test to see if there really is an audience for animated film in Beirut. If so, her intention is to make Beirut Animated a tradition.

“This is our first experience, but we want to continue if there is an interest and a need for it. The idea is to develop the festival more – this is just the first edition,” she said.

By  Now Mmedia