Ireland, Northern Ireland, Lebanon, Germany, 2022
Director: Stephen Gerard Kelly, Garry Keane; screenplay: Stephen Gerard Kelly; cinematography: Stephen Gerard Kelly; editing: Iseult Howlett; music: David Holmes, Tim Harries; producers: Brendan J. Byrne; co-producers: Myriam Sassine, Alison Toomey, Christian Beetz; production companies: Cyprus Avenue Films, Real Films Production, Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion, Abbout Productions.
Running time: 92’
With Abu Ahmad & Abeed Family, Kujeyje Family, Daher Family, Aboodi Ziyani
SYNOPSIS
A powerful film that captures the stark reality of life in Beirut’s Sabra and Shatila neighbourhoods. The film follows four families over four years and depicts the harsh rituals of their daily lives as they struggle for survival in a city and country on the brink of financial collapse. Through extraordinary access, the filmmakers open a window into a largely unseen world to unfold a collection of utterly compelling human narratives filled with resilience and hope.
DIRECTORS
Cinematographer and director Stephen Gerard Kelly is an Ireland-raised artist who moved to Beirut in 2015 out of love. He found himself in the tough, storied and sectarian Beirut neighborhoods of Sabra and Shatila where he developed strong relationships with families in the communities, many of whom are descendants from the original Palestinian refugees. After years of living there, these same families encouraged Stephen to pick up his camera to document their lives. Filmed over the subsequent four years and co-directed with Garry Keane, In the Shadow of Beirut is Stephen’s first film.
Donegal-born Garry Keane studied film at the London College of Communication and at the Irish National Film School. After graduating in 1992, he worked as a Director of Photography in New York and London, before finally settling in Ireland, where he has been a documentary filmmaker for the last 25 years. In 2011, he set up Real Films, and since then, Keane’s documentaries have been nominated for 11 Irish Film & Television Academy Awards, winning four.
TRAILER