In a bid to keep the protests in Lebanon alive, director Edwin Harb Kadri teamed up with a group of friends to shoot a handful of films supporting the You Stink initiative
After the initial protest in Beirut on August 22 I felt a deep sense of satisfaction, despite the tear gas and the beatings myself and the other protesters took.
So first thing the next morning I contacted Romy Coccia Di Ferro (a screenwriter), Naji Khairallah (a lawyer), Alex Menassa (an advertiser) and Peter Daher (a media producer), all of whom were schoolmates of mine who took part in the protests. I told them I had an idea that would make the people feel what we were feeling; that would remind them of their duties towards keeping their country safe and free.
We got together that same night, brainstormed, and shot the following day for three hours, edited for four, and released the film in the morning. Rental companies provided high grade equipment free of charge as a gesture for the cause. After the amazing feedback the movement received when we offered them the video, we shot the next one 24 hours later, edited and released it in the same time-frame as the first one. It also received overwhelming reviews.
The main challenge during filming was to keep the team alive. To keep them beating in spite of the exhaustion caused by a shoot that lasted almost a week, with not one second of sleep. There was also the challenge of finding locations and actors on the spot. But people telling us loud and clear how much of an impact the videos had on them and on the cause made it worthwhile.
The first video hit 380,000 views, as well as 6,000 shares on social media. It was also aired on LBC and Al Jadeed. The second almost reached 200,000 views and 2,000 shares in 48 hours.
The problem in Lebanon is that the state of corruption we’re in has been around for as long as the independence of the country itself. That’s a notion that everyone in this country grows up with. So it’s understandable that many people weren’t that keen on protesting, or going down to Martyrs’ Square. Because for them things don’t change. But they do. And they did on the August 22 when, for the first time in it’s history, Downtown Beirut had 10,000 people chanting the same hymn: Lebanon.
That’s what made me realise that this time was different. I was beaten up, tear gassed, assaulted, and so were most people down there while we were asking for the most basic of rights. But that’s also what made it beautiful. That we all went together, believing in each other.
My job as a filmmaker is to convey what I feel, visually, and the reason for the success of the videos is that most people were feeling the same thing. They just needed to see it, to hear it and feel it. To confirm the questions in their minds. ‘Hey, is this really happening? Is it change?’
Edwin Harb Kadri is a director based in Beirut