FILM000077

Distraught over their city’s recent destruction during the Lebanese Civil War, Yasmine and Leila embark on a journey in search of Beirut’s past glory. They carry with them two rare, unreleased film prints which help to land them a meeting with the reclusive and eccentric film connoisseur, Monsieur Farouk.
Through the magic of cinema, the three travel back in time on a mythical, history-laden tour of the city. Here, Once Upon a Time: Beirut shines as the travellers visit the Beirut of the French-directed films of the 1930s. Next they explore the Beirut of the 1960s as seen through the lenses of Arab filmmakers and finally they visit the Beirut of the large-scale American studio efforts of the 1970s.

1994

101 mins

Arab Film Distribution

Drama

Arabic English,

Lebanon

http://arabcinemadb.alc.manchester.ac.uk/Public/Film/Show/FILM000077