Beirut Exploded Views

In a city post-apocalypse, young men communicate only through smart devices. They make home out of urban debris. They can’t speak to each other, but are still able to dream.

"Akraam Zaatari’s Beirut Exploded Views shatters the stillness of daily life. Tracking shots follow a number of young men toying with their mobile phones around construction sites. The final shot finds the camera taking on the perspective of a fighter jet, subjecting us to the ways in which disruption can occur without warning thanks to the current instability of the region."

— Tess Jaspers, Film Comment

This work was commissioned by the Gwangju Biennial 2014 and produced with the support of ACE-Saradar Group.

Director of Photography: Bassem Fayad

Editing: Ali E-Darsa 

1:1.85 letterboxed in 16:9