This film essay covers a long historical stretch, from 1860 to 1982, focusing on two phenomena that have marked the city of Beirut: sexuality and armed violence.

1860 coincides with the rise of modernity in Beirut following the Second Industrial Revolution. It also marks the massacres of 1860.

This fresco ends more than a century later, in 1982, with massacres tearing through the same geography. Its ultimate event horizon is the Israeli invasion of 1982, which Samir Kassir described as a blow to a unique laboratory of Arab modernity. 

It is this Lebanese experiment with modernity that the project intends to celebrate and question.

At the base of this project lies a thorough exploration of Lebanon’s numerous outlets of modernity, such as printing presses, publishing houses, and recording studios. For many years, we have been mapping their lives and their irreversible demise. In often catastrophic situations, we have also been collecting the remnants of these cultural institutions. The resulting collection of newspapers, periodicals, records, and film reels reflects the cultural production of a city that resonated throughout the Arab world.

From this exhaustive dive into the archives of Lebanon’s modernity, we are constructing an animated fresco in which history unfolds with all its contradictions and conflicting narratives. The tragedy builds almost imperceptibly.

In the centennial life of Lebanon’s consensual democracy, many discordant narratives have emerged, and much blood has been shed. Beyond that, men and women were killed for ideas they believed in, for a nation they were all attempting to build in various ways. One of the main drives behind this project is the toxic legacy of these unresolved histories. One of the by-products of this toxicity has been either the lack of transmission from one generation to another or the propagation of partisan politics. What opportunity do younger generations have to assess and understand their country? Since 1975, generation after generation has been brought into chaos, with no real opportunity to shape their future. The answer for the future rests in a comprehensive understanding of the history of the land and its people.

The essay is divided into five parts covering five distinct periods in the city’s history: 

• P1: Premise: 1860–1920
• P2: The Lebanese Experiment: 1920–1958 
• P3: The Long Sixties: 1958–1968
• P4: The Time of Revolutions: 1968–1975 
• P5: The Lebanese Civil War: 1975–1982 

Each section is built around small historical vignettes made of animated still images. Most of these originate from the Lebanese press, from the early 1900s to the mid-1980s. Thousands of publications and printed materials have been digitized over the years, allowing us to compose each vignette from a breadth of material. We were able to create a real textural evolution in the history of image-making and study the agency of images. Here, images are not mere representations of events; they are the main protagonists, and as such, this manifesto aims to restore their power and empower new generations of image-makers.

While most vignettes deal directly with Lebanon, some aim to highlight regional and international events that have had a direct impact on the history of the country. These vignettes will serve as a thread guiding us through a dense narration.

Through numerous encounters in Lebanon, a great deal of material relevant to this research was gathered. The very stories of how that material was gathered are in themselves a tale to be told. In many cases, piles of paper and celluloid were saved from the dumpster.

Looking at the material that was produced at the time, what we notice is a rich visual culture manifesting itself in print, sound, and celluloid. Today, these enterprises represent some of the best adventures in sound and image originating from the region. For instance, studying the various magazines published around the time, we notice a vivid print culture that suddenly declined at the end of the 1970s.

Collage (detaching visual material from its original context and reinterpreting it) and montage (pacing and editing this material) will thus be the tools of my own revolution: a manifesto for remembrance and a surge to act.

History undoubtedly produces images, but what impact do images have on history? The seventies witnessed a proliferation of images that appeared in print, on film, and on television.

The means of producing and disseminating images became more instantaneous and entangled in people’s daily lives. In this project, I intend to analyze two sets of images: those related to Sexual Liberation and those related to the Palestinian Revolution. For both movements, the production of images played a central role to propagate their respective messages. I intend to show that what these two movements had in common was their use of the revolutionary means at their disposal, the instruments of modernity they hijacked in order to convey their messages. I propose to study their modes of production and build a political essay around archives and the writing of history. By delving into thousands of documents dating from the nineteen forties to the eighties, ranging from erotic Lebanese magazines to political periodicals, I intend to retrace the evolution in the representation of women as well as that of the Palestinian cause in the Lebanese public sphere, with a special focus on their turning points, which culminated for both in the seventies. This project is a celebration of its graphics and of the central role artists and designers played in these respective revolutions. Finally, in this highly visual realm, one cannot possibly dismiss music. Alongside the turbulence of the imagery and messages, there are tunes that were no less revolutionary and equally embodied the struggles of the time. In this project, I dissect these sounds and images in order to build a buzzing fresco made of fragmented relics of a fight that remains as relevant as ever.

Arabic with English subtitles.

🕓 Approximately 60 minutes

No break

Alfred Tarazi (b. 1980, Beirut) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work traces the ruptures, romances, and residues of the modern Arab world. For over two decades, he has amassed a vast personal archive - an obsessive, poetic act of historical preservation - from which he constructs dense, cinematic works across digital collage, photography, sculpture, installation, and film. 

Formed in the long shadow of the Lebanese Civil War, Tarazi’s visual language reflects a profound engagement with memory: how it is recorded, manipulated, mythologized, or forgotten. His immersive tableaux often blur the lines between personal recollection and state archives, where history and myth collide, and the unresolved past reverberates in the present. 

Tarazi has exhibited widely, from Beirut to Venice, Vienna, Milan, and beyond. He was awarded the Lokman Slim Prize in 2023 and, in 2024, received the Prince Claus Mentorship for Moving Narratives. He is an artist in residence at UMAM D&R, where he continues to interrogate the architecture of memory, and why remembering still matters.

TITLE

A Lover’s Manifesto

Written, Directed, and Produced by

Alfred Tarazi

Alfred Tarazi was born in Beirut in 1980. In 2004, he graduated with a degree in graphic design from the American University of Beirut. A Lover’s Manifesto is his first film.

Researcher

Josette Khalil

With over 15 years in the design industry, Josette Khalil leads the product development and R&D effort at Megaphone News (Lebanon). Her personal research and digital arts practice addresses the intersection of subjectivity, agency, history, and technology. In recent years, her expanding interest in socio-political and community work has led her to focus on user experience and media design.

Lead Animator

Alaa Fleifel

Alaa Fleifel is an animator, animation director, and independent filmmaker. He graduated in 2020 with a degree in graphic design from the American University of Beirut. He is a founding member of the Animation Collective under the Lebanese Cinema Cooperative. He has created two award-winning animated short films with international recognition. Alaa led a team of four animators over a period of four months to bring A Lover’s Manifesto P1 to life.

Sound Artist

Fadi Tabbal

Fadi Tabbal is a Lebanese musician, producer, and sound engineer whose work consists of minimalist pieces ranging from ambient and electronic to drone and contemporary classical. Tabbal released six solo albums between 2013 and 2021. Although his early work was composed solely on guitar, he gradually moved toward synths, electronics, voice samples, and tape loops, expanding his sound palette and further exploring the concept of “controlled randomness” in his compositions. Often referred to as “the hardest-working man in Lebanon’s alternative music scene,” Tabbal relocated to Beirut in 2006, following studies in sound engineering in Montreal, Canada. He subsequently established Tunefork Studios, a specialized workspace offering customized services including full-band recordings, live sound, music production, and composition. He has produced and recorded some of the most renowned Lebanese and international acts in today’s contemporary alternative music scene.

Architect

Joseph Bitar

Joseph Bitar joined 4B Architects as Managing Partner in 2011, focusing on international projects. His collaborative approach to design has led to a diverse portfolio spanning several regions, including Princess Noura University in Riyadh, Eko Hotel Tower 2 in Lagos, the Lighting Masterplan of the City of Beirut, the Najran Conference Center, the renovation and extension of the Red Cross Headquarters in Beirut, and the renewal of Harissa Public Spaces. He graduated in 1999 from Saint-Luc School of Architecture in Brussels, where his housing project Epine Dorsale was awarded the European 4 prize. He also holds a DEA in Landscape & Urban Project from the Lille School of Architecture and a Master in Management from the École Spéciale des Travaux Publics (ESTP) in Paris. He began his career at ASSAR, working on projects in Brussels and Luxembourg, before joining Oger International’s headquarters in Paris in 2001 as Design Principal, where he managed the design of landmark projects in Saudi Arabia. From 2009 to 2011, he established and directed Oger International Beirut, a 200-employee subsidiary in Lebanon. In 2018, Bitar founded the School of Architecture at Saint Joseph University, serving as Director and Associate Professor until 2022, where he developed a contemporary architectural education program combining international best practices with local and regional requirements. A passionate architect and dynamic manager, he combines environmental and operational integrity with extensive international experience. He remains a tireless advocate for sustainability and an active participant in grassroots efforts supporting architecture and urban development in Lebanon.

Production Year

2026

Co-Funded By

The European Union

With the Support of

Samir Kassir Foundation

Presented At

Beirut Spring Festival 2026

Partners

A Lover’s Manifesto has partnered with:

• Dar Al Furat — Aboudi Abou Jaoude
• UMAM Documentation and Research — Beirut
• Galerie Krinzinger — Vienna

Archives & Collections

A Lover’s Manifesto has relied on the following archives and collections:

• Archives of the Institute for Palestine Studies, the American University of Beirut, and the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik
• Private collections of Yehya Hakim, Aboudi Abou Jaoude, Alfred Tarazi, and Camille Tarazi

Grants

A Lover’s Manifesto is a recipient of the following grants:

• 2026 — Beirut Spring Festival, “Tech for Memory,” with funding from the European Union
• 2025 — Doha Film Institute
• 2024 — BERYT Grant, implemented by UNESCO
• 2024 — Prince Claus Fund, Moving Narratives Award

© 2026 Alfred Tarazi. All rights reserved.

Alfred Tarazi Studio

Indoors venue

Capacity: 200 seats

Phone Number: +961.3.223.738

Directions via Google Maps ↱

Parking available for free / street parking / parking available for a fee