A Series of Events: Civil Violence and War Memories

UMAM Documentation and Research (UMAM D&R) carried out a six-day event in 2005 under the title ‘Civil Violence and War Memories’ that took place in Masrah el-Madina, Hamra and in the Hangar in Haret Hreik, Beirut. The project consisted of film screenings, photo exhibitions and two round tables with academics. It was motivated by the idea of doing the event in two separate places so that participants would move from Hamra to Dahiyeh to “transgress mental borders.” It targeted students, film directors and “people interested in attending exhibitions and films.” Producer George Nassar participated in the discussion. One of the films was ‘Circle of Deceit’ 1981, another ‘Massacre’ 2004, directed by Monika Borgmann, Lokman Slim, and Hermann Theissen, was only officially screened one time before because it was banned by the Lebanese government. The film is a series of interviews with six perpetrators who participated in the massacre of Sabra and Shatila in 1982. Other films covering the conflicts in Rwanda, Bosnia and Kurdistan were also screened and discussed. The event was documented, recorded,and covered by a press conference.