The Razor’s Edge
(Ghazl El-Banat)
New 4k Restoration
Set amid the Lebanese Civil War, Saab’s fiction feature debut centers the unlikely bond formed between Karim, a forty-something painter, and Samar, a teenager who grew up in war-torn Beirut.
“A striking meditation on humanity’s struggle in the face of unthinkable horror.” – New York Film Festival
Read A Treasure Trove of Interviews with Saab, courtesy of Sabzian.
Upcoming Screenings
Austin – Austin Film Society – March 1 & 9
Toronto – TIFF – March 13
Richmond – Hard Light – March 18
Durham – Duke University – March 27
Cleveland – Cleveland Cinematheque – April 26
Vancouver – Coming Soon
Seattle – Coming Soon
Past Screenings
New York Film Festival – October 4, 8, & 13, 2025
NYC – BAM Cinemas – October 17 – 23, 2025
Dallas – SPACY – November 30, 2025
Philadelphia – Lightbox Film Center – December 3, 2025
Montreal – Cinema Public – December 19 – 23 & January 5, 2026
Minneapolis – Walker Arts Center – February 13, 2026
Chicago – Gene Siskel Film Center – February 21 – 26, 2026
The Beirut Trilogy
Newly Restored
Beirut, Never Again (1976)
Lebanese writer and painter Etel Adnan provides poetic voiceover for what would become the first of Saab’s “Beirut Trilogy,” in which the filmmaker follows the daily destruction of the city. Every morning between 6 and 10am, she roams around Beirut while the militias from both sides rest from their night of fighting.
Letter from Beirut (1978)
Three years after the beginning of the Civil War the filmmaker returns to her city which has irrevocably changed. An epistolary film in which Saab wanders the streets, rides the bus, chats with refugees and reflects on the war’s toll.
Beirut My City (1982)
In July 1982 the Israeli army laid siege to Beirut. Four years earlier Jocelyne Saab saw her 150-year-old childhood home go up in flames. She asked herself: when did all this begin? Every place becomes a historical site and every name a memory. Considered by Saab herself to be her most important film.
Upcoming Screenings
Toronto – TIFF – March 12
Cleveland – Cleveland Cinematheque – April 19
Vancouver – Coming Soon
Seattle – Coming Soon
Cleveland – Coming Soon
Past Screenings
Chicago – Gene Siskel Film Center – February 28 – March 3