A Letter from Beirut
7.1
Letter from Beirut documents the filmmaker's return to Beirut during one of the lulls, three years after the outbreak of the civil war, animated by the urge to return. She is confronted by the physical, emotional and psychological ravages of the war, terrified and sorrowful, she cannot find her place in the city. In that quest, she communicates with everyday people, friends, neighbors, people riding the bus across the city's eastern and western flanks. To pace her journeying and dramatic unraveling of the film, Saab borrows the guise of a letter read in a voice-over, written by world-renowned poet Etel Adnan. A rare document from the civil war, Letter from Beirut lays bare and spontaneously how people make sense of their everyday in the midst of chaos, violence, terror and sorrow.
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Cast
2 people
Jocelyne Saab Director · Etel Adnan Writer Olivier Guéneau Cinematographer
United States release April 28, 2019 · Produced in Lebanon, France · Languages Arabic, English, French, Nepali
Production
France•3
Production
Lebanon · France
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Lettre de Beyrouth
Original language
French
Spoken on screen
Arabic · English · French · Nepali
Release dates
France · January 1, 1978
Theatrical
United States · April 28, 2019
Premiere · Art of the Real
Brazil
October 8, 2025 · Limited theatrical · IMS Paulista (Sessão Mutual Films)
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Some details come from TheTVDB.