Mai Masri — Director (8)

Movie

Beirut Diaries: Truth, Lies and Videos (2006)
Yaumiyat Beirut: haqa'eq wa akadheeb wa IMDb TMDB
other title: Yaumiyat Beirut: haqa'eq wa akadheeb wa
By focusing on the experiences of 25-year-old Nadine Zaidan, who was one of the thousands of activists who gathered in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square in the chaotic days immediately following the assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February of 2005, Beirut Diaries explores critical transformations and crucial questions facing contemporary Lebanon. With this insightful video diary, director Mai Masri chronicles the political ferment embodied in the March 11th Movement, also known as The Cedar Revolution, as people of all factions, ages and religious affiliations passionately debate such issues as Syria’s influence in Lebanese politics, the establishment of an international commission to investigate Hariri’s assassination and the organization of free parliamentary elections.

Movie

Under the Rubble (1983)
Taht al-Anqad TMDB
other title: Taht al-Anqad
Under the Rubble is the filmmakers’ harrowing attempt to tell the real story behind the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon as it took place in Beirut—a traumatizing experience for the city and its people. This moving and informative documentary won the Special Jury Award at the Valencia Film Festival.

Movie

Hanan Ashrawi: A Woman of Her Time (1995)
Hanan 'Ashrawi: Imra'a Fi Zaman al-Tahaddi IMDb TMDB
other title: Hanan 'Ashrawi: Imra'a Fi Zaman al-Tahaddi
In the aftermath of the peace accord signed by Israel and the PLO in September of 1995, Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi emerged as a formidable negotiator and a persuasive voice on the international stage. But beyond the polished rhetoric and the public poise, what drives this mother of two whose high profile and personal integrity have made her enemies as well as friends? Palestinian filmmaker Mai Masri profiles Ashrawi in this intimate portrait, exploring how she juggles her responsibilities as political activist, writer, and mother—all against the backdrop of challenges facing the Palestinians in their struggle to build a viable state.

Movie

33 Days (2007)
33 Yaoum IMDb TMDB
other title: 33 Yaoum
33 Days chronicles the efforts of theatre director Sharif Abdunnur, graphic designer Sharif Bibi, journalist Fadia Baszzi and Mariam Al-Bassam, director of the news desk at New TV, as they try to provide emergency aid, report current news of the conflict and help Lebanese children process the violence and destruction they see around them on a daily basis. Masri's film is full of compassion and humanity even as it records the horrible devastation of war.

Movie

Children of Shatila (1998)
أطفال شاتيلا WikiData IMDb TMDB
other title: أطفال شاتيلا
Many people first became aware of the Shatila refugee camp in Lebanon after the shocking and horrific Sabra-Shatila massacre that took place there in 1982. Located in Beirut's "belt of misery," the camp is home to 15,000 Palestinians and Lebanese who share a common experience of displacement, unemployment and poverty. Fifty years after the exile of their grandparents from Palestine, the children of Shatila attempt to come to terms with the reality of being refugees in a camp that has survived massacre, siege and starvation. Director Mai Masri focuses on two Palestinian children in the camp: Farah, age 11 and Issa, age 12. When these children are given video cameras, the story of the camp evolves from their personal narratives as they articulate the feelings and hopes of their generation.

Movie

Beirut fi Ain Al-Assifa (2021)
بيروت في أين الأسيف Douban
other title: 贝鲁特:风暴之眼 / بيروت في أين الأسيف …
It’s October 2019, and four progressive women are documenting the uprising in Beirut. They are journalist Hanine, Iraqi camerawoman Lujain, and Noel and Michelle, two artist sisters whose often-ironic songs have made them a voice for their generation. The prevailing mood is one of hope and change. But a few months later, Covid-19 has locked down the city, and all optimism seems to have evaporated. This non-chronological account of a tumultuous period in recent Lebanese history loops back and forth between uprising and lockdown, with the four women calling each other and the film’s director Mai Masri on video. They express their opinions about current events and place them into historical perspective, but also offer glimpses into their personal lives. The devastating blow of the explosion at the Port of Beirut, just ten months after the uprising, was still to come. Will the young women be able to hold onto their dream of a new Lebanon?

Movie

3000 Nights (2015)
3000 ليلة WikiData IMDb TMDB Douban
麦·马斯里 actor: 麦莎·阿德哈迪 / 娜迪拉·欧姆兰 …
other title: 三千夜 / 3000 ليلة …
Iman, a young newly wed Palestinian bride, is arrested and incarcerated in a top-security Israeli prison where she gives birth to a baby boy. As she struggles to survive and raise her child behind bars, she is torn between her instinct as a mother and the difficult decisions she must make, finding through her relationship with the other prisoners - both Palestinian and Israeli – the time and space to reflect, develop and mature as a young woman.