Terra Incognita by Ghassam Salhab (Lebanon/France, 2002, 120 minutes, 35mm)

Synopsis:
Beirut is a city that has been destroyed and rebuilt at least seven times. What lives, what stories could one create, after the most recent disaster in Lebanon? Soraya is a guide who takes tourists on the trails of ancient civilizations as well as sites of recent destruction from the Lebanese civil war. Unable to commit, she surrenders herself to passing lovers. Her friend Leyla sails between mysticism and atheism. Nadim, an architect, tries to reinvent his city while Tarek wonders why he ever returned to his country. The four friends are stuck in the present, afraid to look back and even more afraid to face the future.
In Arabic with English subtitles.

Post-screening panel discussion with filmmaker Ghassan Salhab, Nana Asfour (film critic, NYC) and Moukhtar Kocache (Lower Manhattan Cultural Council)

Biography:
Ghassan Salhab was born in Dakar in 1958. He grew up in Senegal, and settled down with his family in Lebanon in 1970. In 1975, he went to Paris to study and since then has lived in between Paris and Beirut. He is a collaborator in the Arabic Art and Literature Magazine al-Adab, and wrote and directed many short films, including The Other (1989), After Death (1991), African Ghost (1994), and Of Seduction (1999). In 1998, he directed his first feature film, Beirut Ghost. Terra Incognita is Salhab’s second feature length film.

Festivals & Awards:
Official Selection, A Certain Regard, Cannes 2002
Best Soundtrack Award, Three Continents Festival, Nantes 2002
Biennial of Arabic Cinemas, Arab World Institute, Paris, 2002, in competition
La Rochelle Festival, 2002
Carthage Film Festival, 2002
Göteborg Film Festival, 2003
Teheran Film Festival, 2003
San Francisco Arab Film Festival, 2003