Around the Pink House
Khalil Joreige and Joana Hadjithomas - Lebanon - 1999 - 92m - 35mm - drama
In Arabic with English subtitles
Built in the popular district of Matba'a by a rich man as a token of love, the pink house was abandoned at the beginning of the war, hit by many shells and greatly damaged. After the war's end, two families have settled there illegally: The Adaimi's and the Nawfal's. The country is going through an economic boom, and the old shell- shocked buildings are being torn down to make way for a large reconstruction program. The arrival of Mattar, the new owner, surprises both families. He tells them he intends to keep the facade of the house but will remodel the inside into a commercial centre. He gives them ten days to move out. This event divides the district and little by little two groups form. On the one side, those who favour reconstruction and the economic boom, and on the other, the two families and their friends. The district resembles a battlefield. Each inhabitant lives his own tragedy, often verging on the absurd. The house is a distorting mirror of the current reality, where each one finds his memories or loses them when facing the ruins of the pink house.
Sunday, 1 April, 20.00 - filmmaker present and
Wednesday, 4 April, 18.10
