UNIC Beirut and Cabriolet Film Festival: A Collaboration Bridging Art & Sustainable Development

On Friday, June 2nd, the 15th edition of the Cabriolet Film Festival kicked off on Saint Nicolas stairs in Gemmayze- Beirut under the theme ‘home’ for three consecutive days. This event, which was in collaboration with the UN Information Centre (UNIC) in Beirut among others this year, brought together Lebanese and foreign artists, engaged youth, and acted as a platform for storytelling and innovation through short movies.

In the heart of the city around sunset time, people of all ages gathered on the stairs to watch around 47 short movies selected from 3066 submissions. The vibrant energy of the youth was all over the place with banners all along Saint Nicolas Stairs.

Brahim Samaha, founder of Cabriolet Film Festival, commended the collaboration with UNIC Beirut as an opportunity to promote the festival at an international level. “We are now under an international umbrella and working towards collaborating each & every year.”

For her part, Cynthia Darrous Khoury, officer-in-charge at UNIC Beirut believes that “this collaboration promotes UN priorities, principles and efforts toward achieving sustainable development goals and amplifies the role of the youth as catalysts for change in Lebanon.”

A shared passion uniting people of all ages

Boundless creativity, diverse cultures, styles, and perspectives were reflected on seven screens spread across the stairs. Various Lebanese and foreign artists and directors joined the event and expressed great joy at this kind of support.

“We are seeing short movies by Lebanese and foreign artists and this is really important because it introduces us to new styles, new artists and the young generation,” said famous Lebanese actress Pierrette Katrib.

According to Lebanese actor Joseph Azoury, “youth in Lebanon, especially in these times, are relentlessly trying to express their interests. This is part of Cabriolet film festival as it is a platform that welcomes all their initiatives even if filmed using their own mobile phones”.

Through the lens of young filmmakers

Movies bringing fresh perspectives and capturing the filmmakers’ sense of ‘home’ were screened. Among these was one animation movie named ‘blink of an eye’ by Rebecca Samarani, a visually impaired woman who drew it all by herself. The movie, which is Rebecca’s first, revolves around her personal challenge as she loses her eyesight progressively with age and chose to challenge herself through it.

Another movie by Patrik Elias named ‘Breakup in 3d’, features a breakup from three different perspectives. As Patrick was going on a vacation to visit three of his friends who are passing through breakups and each living in a particular European country, he decided to capture breakups and the reasons behind them from three different aspects. Worth noting that the movie was filmed by him using his own phone.

Rita Alexanian, a Lebanese-Armenian director of ‘faceless’ movie mentions that this is her first project that gets accepted into a festival. Her movie revolves around the identity crisis and the definition of ‘home’ which is so versatile for her as a Lebanese-Armenian.

“When the youth are participating, you observe this special energy and great passion as they are producing short movies,” Samaha adds. 

Event organizers also dedicated a portion of the program to a dance performance which added a buzz of energy into the gathering.

Synergy between art and development

The film festival program was curated to provide a dynamic platform for young filmmakers to showcase their skills and express their creativity. Their active involvement proves the power of creativity and innovation in promoting sustainable development.