Transit Visa

In May 2001, the directors Akram Zaatari and Mahmoud Hojeij organised a documentary project in Beirut with nine young artists from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Iran. In four episodes - VIDEO, WELCOME, THE VISUAL TRACE and I DON’T REMEMBER THE REST OF IT - they examine their relationship with the city and the video medium. Each participant has brought favourite images of his hometown and makes a one-minute film about Beirut. Some of them choose political subjects, others stick to the personal level. In interviews, they elucidate their ideas about working with video, about their first visual memories and about the cities they visited. In a kind of show programme, they are interviewed about the workshop, which offered the young Arab filmmakers an exceptional opportunity to exchange thoughts.