FILM SCREENINGS

Phantom Beirut

1998. Lebanon/France. Written and directed by Ghassan Salhab. With Aouni Kawas, Darina El Joundi, Rabih Mroué. A thriller about loyalty and betrayal, Phantom Beirut is set in Lebanon at the end of the 1980s, as Khalil returns home after ten years of absence. A decade earlier, during the civil war, Khalil used the cover of chaos and fire during a battle to fake his own death and acquire a new identity. His homecoming stirs up turmoil, doubt, and anger among his close friends and former companions-in-arms, as they marvel at his resurrection but remain angry with his desertion. Salhab intercuts the film’s narrative with video footage of actors discussing the script, delivering a personal viewpoint on their lived experience of war. In Arabic; English subtitles. 113 min.