International film festival draws spotlight on Tripoli

Al Monitor

On Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013, a new international film festival was launched in Lebanon. Tripoli, the so-called “capital of the north,” will be a prime location for this festival, along with Beirut. There is no doubt that the “Cultural Resistance International Film Festival in Tripoli” will be transformed into an artistic and cultural witness to the vibrant beauty of a city dealing with oppression, marginalization and sectarian wars that are eating up its neighborhoods, squares, buildings and people — and even its soul.

This witness comes at a delicate moment, and within this moment seeks to bring the city to life again. Is choosing films as an alternative to death and decay — in a country doomed to permanent death and decay — an act of bravery? It absolutely is. Is heading to Tripoli, the city located in a labyrinth of pain and destruction, an act of bravery? Definitely. FULL STORY