Beirut has been a lively center for experimental documentary ever since the Lebanese civil war ended with so many questions unanswered. These works use various anti-photographic techniques to make contact with the virtual. Lina Ghaibeh’s Sad Man captures the undercurrent of emotion shaping daily life in Beirut. In Face A/ Face B by Rabih Mroué there is almost no visible image, only a sound recording by the artist and his brother from 1978. The video invites the viewer to mourn the war’s destruction of political ideals as well as human life. This Day, a new feature-length work by Akram Zaatari, inquires into the truth value of archival images, including documentary photographs of Bedouin life, and heroic portraits of young militia fighters during the war; a search for truth that concludes in the editing suite. (Laura U. Marks)

For information on additional Arab shorts to be screened at Pacific Film Archive on November 18 and 23, please visit www.bampfa.berkeley.edu