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The Jocelyne Saab Association is hosting a comprehensive retrospective focused on the career of the Franco-Lebanese journalist and war correspondent. The event, which began on November 18, will continue until December 18 in Paris. Mathilde Rouxel, co-founder and president of the association, was interviewed by This Is Beirut.
The association’s mission is to honor the artistic legacy of Jocelyne Saab (1948-2018), facilitate the restoration of her works and ensure its widespread dissemination. This diligent effort is carried out by volunteers under the leadership of Mathilde Rouxel.
A Life, A Legacy
The Franco-Lebanese filmmaker is best known for her documentaries on the Lebanese war. Recognized as a trailblazer in Arab cinema, her substantial body of work includes 47 films and 6 photographic series. To gain deeper insight into her personality, This Is Beirut asked Mathilde Rouxel to discuss three of Saab’s films.
“Jocelyne Saab heavily invested in her work. Her commitment was both personal and political,” Rouxel notes. “To encapsulate Saab’s persona and understand her extensive career, which spanned from 1973 until her death in 2018, ‘Lettre de Beyrouth’ (Letter From Beirut) is particularly emblematic. This film, for the first time in her career, portrays her connection to Lebanon. It notably demonstrates her eagerness to explore and understand, marked by a prevalent sense of humor and sarcasm towards an overwhelming situation.”
Rouxel continues, “Another significant film is ‘Beyrouth ma ville’ (Beirut My Town), which showcases her remarkable ability to collaborate with artists. The script was written by Roger Assaf, and the film was produced on-site in West Beirut, along with her regular collaborators.”
“Regarding her fictional work,” Rouxel adds, “‘Dounia’ stands out as her most ambitious film. She spent seven years completing it. She aspired to shoot it in Egypt as a tribute to Egyptian cinema that she cherished. This project was both a grand adventure and profound agony for her, as it faced severe criticism and censorship in Egypt.”
Restored Heritage
Jocelyne Saab bequeathed a significant cinematic legacy with films that cover all the major conflicts in the Middle East between 1973 and 1982. These works offer a nuanced understanding of both the aesthetic evolution of the cinema produced by the filmmaker and the ideological and political shifts that shook the region. Due to the lack of dedicated cinematic institutions in Lebanon, Saab was unable to preserve her works in her homeland during her lifetime. Addressing this shortfall is the challenge now undertaken by an association that is restoring her works and planning to distribute them on DVD soon.
To date, all of Saab’s films about Lebanon, independently made between 1974 and 1982, have been restored. These films present the powerful imagery of a filmmaker who significantly influenced the latter third of the 20th century and the early 21st century: eleven films, both short and feature-length, shot in 16 mm during the Lebanese Civil War.
The Complete Retrospective
The retrospective has already begun, with screenings in Paris on October 8 and 29 at the Cinémathèque du documentaire (Documentary Cinematheque) of the Georges Pompidou Center Public Information Library, and at the Forum des images, before extending to Quebec from November 1 to 4 and then Berlin from November 10 to 12.
The retrospective returned to Paris as part of the program of the Franco-Arab Festival of Noisy-le-Sec, with Mathilde Rouxel as the artistic director. It then expanded to several theaters and cultural institutions. “We try to show these films to different audiences around the world to provide insight into what is happening today in the Middle East because the situation is very complex,” Rouxel emphasizes. “I believe it is also very dangerous not to understand and refer to the history of what has been happening for the past 70 years. We have images for this,” Rouxel explains in a brief interview with This Is Beirut, highlighting the importance of the restoration and dissemination of Jocelyne Saab’s films. “All of Saab’s films will be screened, and it will be the first time in France that the entirety of her work is presented. In total, more than 30 films and about ten videos are included in this initiative.”
The retrospective extends beyond merely showcasing the works of Jocelyne Saab the journalist and reporter. A study day is organized at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University, along with meetings with Saab’s collaborators and acquaintances who can share a wealth of anecdotes. Mathilde Rouxel expresses particular pride in these meetings as they are opportunities to gather testimonies that contribute to a broader historical narrative, featuring several guests. “Jocelyne’s work deserves to be shown everywhere at this moment because it also allows for perspective on the current situation,” Rouxel concludes. “Cinema is a tool that many use for activism, but Jocelyne utilized it to denounce and bear witness.”
To follow the retrospective and all activities of the association, visit their Instagram account @jocelynesaabasso
