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I remember her smile when she welcomed me into her office for the first time. I was 18 years old, and I dreamed of art in Technicolor. Thanks to her, I discovered the world of cinema and theater. I stepped onto the stage to become part of the fifth IESAV promotion. Our director had the kindness of women who know how to love. Aimée was her name, and she wore it well! She breathed life into our dreams. And from our dreams, all this art came to life.

There was a time when technology was still proving itself, and big screens were not yet in competition with tablets. We were discovering the seventh art, engaging in theater, television, photography, staging, and that’s just an understatement. Back then, IESAV was still on Huvelin Street, and Madame Boulos reigned there. It’s not for nothing that we, the alumni, always repeat that nothing has been the same since that time.

With her grace and finesse, her kindness and humor, she watched over our projects like little children she protected, or even better, she staged all the follies of a building. Between our professors’ thunderstruck moments (both of love and theater), themselves great artists in their own right, and our impulses as young adults discovering the uncertainties of this profession, the entire world of cinema was at play in this grand spectacle of life.

I look back with nostalgia at those years, 25 years ago, so dense and rich—the most beautiful years of our lives.

And then, even after graduation, this wonderful lady never left us. She knew how to be present in all our personal and professional journeys: weddings, births and our artistic careers. She was there, discreet and elegant. Her memory will continue to bring us together.

Madame Boulos was that pillar of love and encouragement who read all my texts, admired all my canvases, and still smiled at me through the years. She expressed her pride, and I conveyed my gratitude. This great lady of Lebanon, this humble and strong woman, officer of the insignia of the “palmes académiques” and the Order of Arts and Letters, that gentle face, that artistic mother.

Aimée Boulos, you’ve departed to a better world, but we, your “habibétés,” will not forget you.

You will forever remain in our hearts, dear Madame Boulos.

Zeina Nader. IESAV. Class of 1997.
www.zeinanader.com
@zeinanader_art