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“The Silos – Until The Sun Goes Down” (00:06:08) by Samer Georges Ghorayeb, Lebanon, 2023
The 50-year-old silos of the Beirut port absorbed much of the impact when tonnes of incorrectly stored ammonium nitrate fertilizer went up in a massive explosion on August 4, 2020. The silos effectively shielded the western part of Beirut from the blast, which killed more than 200 people.
Three years have passed since this tragedy and no one was found guilty. This film is a tribute to all Beirut blast’s victims and to the Silos that are about to be extinguished.
Director Statement
I live a few minutes away from the Beirut port. The day of the explosion, my family and I were luckily not home. As many fellow citizens, miraculously we’re still alive. What saved many of us is the blast timing, 18:08 (From which the length of the film), this is when people are on the roads leaving their work. There was the time then the silos, these monuments that protected the city and its inhabitants from a much bigger catastrophe. Unfortunately, there was over 200 fatalities, more than 6000 injuries and 40% of Beirut residences shattered. 3 years have passed since this calamity and still no one was punished for this crime. The 50 years old’s exhausted silos are still up as the last witness to this tragedy.
Bio
Samer Ghorayeb is an autodidact Lebanese filmmaker and visual artist, he wrote and directed several short films and creative documentaries.
His experimental films, Le Petit Cahier Noir, From My Window and Borderlines secured him great success in international arthouse film festivals. His major body of work is in the social documentary production and the video art fields.
Director, writer, producer: Samer Georges Ghorayeb Vimeo
Pebbles Underground is focused on showcasing and promoting experimental, avant-garde, underground, and no-to-low budget projects by artist-humans from all over the world. Absurd, uncanny, witty, humorous, slow-video – all are welcomed, and loved.
Pebbles Underground is an independent project not funded by any government or corporation, and we intend to keep it that way. Main source of funding is personal donations from humans organizing the project, who are artists themselves, and the main drive of the project is formed by the energy and involvement of the organizers, and the public.
