Karim Kassem

A Lebanese filmmaker (Karim) travels from New York to Beirut to conduct research for a film that he wants to make about blind children in the mountains of Lebanon. He arrives to Beirut with a condition that had been affecting his eyes and causes him to go straight into surgery, temporarily blinding him with patches covering his eyes. He uses the healing time to reflect, write and spend time with his family. The filmmaker then begins to visit the blind institute where he will conduct his research and attempts to cast someone to play himself in parallel, which doesn't go as planned. Little does the institute know that Karim has no treatment to pitch but continues to visit the classrooms and attend in order to find his characters.

Although Hassan has retired from his job at the water authority, his neighbors are used to him always helping them out. This time, the situation is serious: The entire town is without water, and tensions are rising among the population with every passing day. Hassan would like to help them all, but he also needs time to mourn a friend who recently died under unclear circumstances. Lebanese director Karim Kassem skillfully works with various cinematic genres to create an elegant double portrait of an aging man and the town of which he has been a part all his life. He does so with a sense of nostalgia, subtle humor, and an almost meditative melancholy, mixed with a touch of detective work.

Although Hassan has retired from his job at the water authority, his neighbors are used to him always helping them out. This time, the situation is serious: The entire town is without water, and tensions are rising among the population with every passing day. Hassan would like to help them all, but he also needs time to mourn a friend who recently died under unclear circumstances. Lebanese director Karim Kassem skillfully works with various cinematic genres to create an elegant double portrait of an aging man and the town of which he has been a part all his life. He does so with a sense of nostalgia, subtle humor, and an almost meditative melancholy, mixed with a touch of detective work.

Although Hassan has retired from his job at the water authority, his neighbors are used to him always helping them out. This time, the situation is serious: The entire town is without water, and tensions are rising among the population with every passing day. Hassan would like to help them all, but he also needs time to mourn a friend who recently died under unclear circumstances. Lebanese director Karim Kassem skillfully works with various cinematic genres to create an elegant double portrait of an aging man and the town of which he has been a part all his life. He does so with a sense of nostalgia, subtle humor, and an almost meditative melancholy, mixed with a touch of detective work.

In a village outside of Beirut, amidst scrap metal, chickens and goats, the quiet Fouad runs a mechanic’s garage with a detached but soothing presence. His customers, both old and young, are invited to sit and drink coffee while they wait for their vehicles to be repaired. In these moments of stillness, the garage becomes a haven for people to express their growing despair amidst the economic collapse that surrounds them. No jobs. Sleepless nights. The burden of school tuition. No one is safe. As the darkness closes in, Fouad must undertake a deeply symbolic, transcendent journey through his own psyche: a search for the other side.

In a village outside of Beirut, amidst scrap metal, chickens and goats, the quiet Fouad runs a mechanic’s garage with a detached but soothing presence. His customers, both old and young, are invited to sit and drink coffee while they wait for their vehicles to be repaired. In these moments of stillness, the garage becomes a haven for people to express their growing despair amidst the economic collapse that surrounds them. No jobs. Sleepless nights. The burden of school tuition. No one is safe. As the darkness closes in, Fouad must undertake a deeply symbolic, transcendent journey through his own psyche: a search for the other side.

In a village outside of Beirut, amidst scrap metal, chickens and goats, the quiet Fouad runs a mechanic’s garage with a detached but soothing presence. His customers, both old and young, are invited to sit and drink coffee while they wait for their vehicles to be repaired. In these moments of stillness, the garage becomes a haven for people to express their growing despair amidst the economic collapse that surrounds them. No jobs. Sleepless nights. The burden of school tuition. No one is safe. As the darkness closes in, Fouad must undertake a deeply symbolic, transcendent journey through his own psyche: a search for the other side.

The harvest is over, but a particularly severe drought is causing water problems in the village. Every season, a play is performed in the village, and this year's play is entitled ‘Departures’.

The harvest is over, but a particularly severe drought is causing water problems in the village. Every season, a play is performed in the village, and this year's play is entitled ‘Departures’.

The harvest is over, but a particularly severe drought is causing water problems in the village. Every season, a play is performed in the village, and this year's play is entitled ‘Departures’.

A Lebanese filmmaker (Karim) travels from New York to Beirut to conduct research for a film that he wants to make about blind children in the mountains of Lebanon. He arrives to Beirut with a condition that had been affecting his eyes and causes him to go straight into surgery, temporarily blinding him with patches covering his eyes. He uses the healing time to reflect, write and spend time with his family. The filmmaker then begins to visit the blind institute where he will conduct his research and attempts to cast someone to play himself in parallel, which doesn't go as planned. Little does the institute know that Karim has no treatment to pitch but continues to visit the classrooms and attend in order to find his characters.

A Lebanese filmmaker (Karim) travels from New York to Beirut to conduct research for a film that he wants to make about blind children in the mountains of Lebanon. He arrives to Beirut with a condition that had been affecting his eyes and causes him to go straight into surgery, temporarily blinding him with patches covering his eyes. He uses the healing time to reflect, write and spend time with his family. The filmmaker then begins to visit the blind institute where he will conduct his research and attempts to cast someone to play himself in parallel, which doesn't go as planned. Little does the institute know that Karim has no treatment to pitch but continues to visit the classrooms and attend in order to find his characters.

Traffic rushes by as if nothing has happened. But beside the road, the rubble is smoldering, and firefighting helicopters are circling overhead. Ten minutes in, this is the first specific image we see of the devastating explosion that took place on 4 August 2020 at the Port of Beirut. Until this point, its presence in the film has been indirect—a man smoking beside a broken window, the distant sounds of ships’ horns and sirens.