Filmmaking workshop – #10 Jbeil
21 – 25 November, 2024
In collaboration with Municipality of Jbail-Byblos, CAP sur Jbeil, at CLAC Cultural Center, Jbeil, Old Souk
It’s a wrap! At least for the ten-part workshop series of Creative Expression through Films – TAABIR. But not yet for the project itself – wait for more beautiful visual expressions soon to be seen in the online premiere of two films.
The last and 10th TAABIR workshop took place in Jbeil / Byblos at the end of November, after being postponed from its original date in early October 2024.
Jbeil, located on the Mediterranean Sea about an hour north of Beirut, is one of the oldest cities in the world, home to many cultures over many millennia and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In cooperation with the municipality of Jbail-Byblos and CAP sur Jbeil, we found a wonderful place in the CLAC cultural centre in the old souk of Jbeil. It was a bubble, far away from the worries of the current situation – an almost magical place where the TAABIR team and four participants, three from Jbeil and one from Tripoli, came together for the five-day workshop. A small group with a very pleasant dynamic that worked really well together.
Vanessa Daou, one of the participants, describes her experience and the workshop’s spirit, “The most exciting thing about this workshop is that it’s a free space! There are no rigid rules or fear of making mistakes. Instead, you have the freedom to express yourself, with no right or wrong answers.”
The local atmosphere, the neighbouring harbour and the changing weather from sunny and warm to rainy and cold days gave the participants the opportunity to capture fascinating and diverse moods in their video diaries. As the group was smaller than originally planned, everyone had plenty of time to analyse and discuss their creative work in a relaxed and trusting, intimate atmosphere.
“This workshop pushed me to go further and gave me the confidence to pick up any camera and start filming”, says Tia Azar about her participation, “It’s not about the camera, it’s about knowing and believing in my vision!”
“This workshop made me realize that the images or videos I capture aren’t just about technicalities or randomness. I’ve started infusing emotion into every shot, focusing on meaning rather than just beauty or chance”, Pierre Simon Bou Younes, another one of the participants, learned.
On the evening of day 5, the team, participants and local partners gathered with the Jbeil community for the final on-site screening. Despite the cold rain, many people came and walked through the Old Souk, a pedestrianised area, to the screening venue. They enjoyed the films and local food and another opportunity for networking and sharing experiences.
A selection of the diaries from Jbeil and from the other workshops – Chouf, Beirut, Saida, Dbayeh, Tripoli, Hammana, Mtein, Kobayat and Ehden – will be available to view online soon. Follow our social media channels for more information:
https://www.facebook.com/taabir.workshops
https://www.instagram.com/taabir.workshops/
The project “Creative Expression through Films” is implemented by elbarlament e.V. and funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. Find out more about it here.
