Gathering Around Alternative Arab Cinema: The Role of Film Clubs in the Making of Ideas (Beirut, 1973–1982)
In the early 1970s, the cosmopolitan world of Beirut’s filmmakers, critics and cinephiles was largely structured by an opposition between the Beirut Film Club and the Arab Film Club. The members of the latter, a younger association, dismissed the former as an elitist preserve of the Francophone bour...
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| Pubblicato in: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/bssg, |
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| Autore principale: | |
| Natura: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Lingua: | Anglais |
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Biens Symboliques / Symbolic Goods
2025
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| Accesso online: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Riassunto: | In the early 1970s, the cosmopolitan world of Beirut’s filmmakers, critics and cinephiles was largely structured by an opposition between the Beirut Film Club and the Arab Film Club. The members of the latter, a younger association, dismissed the former as an elitist preserve of the Francophone bourgeoisie. At the time, the Arab Film Club was a space for encounters, political militancy and production of knowledge on cinema and a forum for lively debates. It brought together—and occasionally tore apart—the New Left, the communists and the Palestinians. This article draws on oral history and archival research to retrace the rich, discontinuous history of the Arab Film Club. In the process, it considers the role played by films, screening rooms and the city of Beirut in the making of a group of filmmakers, critics, and moviegoers whose functions were sometimes interchangeable. |
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