Since 2020, I have been working on a project about Lebanese cedar trees in and outside of Lebanon. In March of this year I was lucky enough to travel to Lebanon to film some of these amazing trees to make a film about the country’s specimens and their current state in the face of climate change and the demands of global economies. As part of my collaborative project
@eco__rove , I am very happy to share a trailer for 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘞𝘦 𝘉𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥? (أين يمكن أن تجدنا) a film about the Cedars in Lebanon to be officially released in August. Thank you to my amazing collaborators
@iyad.abougaida and
@jumanahabbas_ , along with
@ronny_ghaida for his animation, and to
@afac.fund for their generous funding of this work and research. The trailer can be viewed at a larger format at the link in my bio, and more from this project very soon!
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𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘞𝘦 𝘉𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥? (أين يمكن أن تجدنا) follows the state of Lebanese Cedar trees (𝘊𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘪) in Lebanon, exploring the various ecologies that the tree inhabits and co-inhabits. The work distinguishes the tree as an ecological being from the various ways in which it has been used as an emblem and otherwise misconstrued. Re-telling transhistorical narratives of the Cedar, used since ancient times as a symbol of eternity and immortality, the film traces various degrees of human impact leading to the tree's contemporary demise, for example the disruption of habitat due to climate change and tourism, and its incorporation as a civic emblem used to craft the illusion of a collective Lebanese ideology. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘞𝘦 𝘉𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥? highlights how socio-political forces and extractive economies have disrupted the tree’s environment, addressing issues of global warming, political ideology, and global capitalism as inextricably linked to the 𝘊𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘪.
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘞𝘦 𝘉𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥? is directed, edited, and produced by
@eco__rove , and made with generous funding from
@afac.fund Fine Art Grant in 2020. The film will be released in August 2022.
Animation courtesy of
@ronny_ghaida , 2022.
