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Little Wars The author reflects on his own connection to a 1982 film about Lebanon’s civil war that continues to resonate today. The first time we see Nabil Srour, the war photographer, chronic liar, and part-time drug dealer affectionately known as Abou el Nobol, he is running across sniper fire in Beirut to get American journalist Mitch Dubin “the shot he needs.” Nabil (played by Nabil Ismaïl) is one of three main characters in Little Wars (1982), by Lebanese filmmaker Maroun Bagdadi (currently available for streaming on Netflix). Bagdadi is perhaps Lebanon’s best-known director, a cinematic chronicler of the nation’s debilitating civil war (1975–1990) who committed himself to the subject in all of his five features. In effect, Bagdadi’s filmic project ....
Lebanon has always rebelled against political repression For years the Arab intellectual elite looked to Lebanon, coveting its atmosphere of freedom. Feigning the non-existence of repression, Beirut welcomed intellectuals from across the region, published their works and celebrated them. Yet, even following the murder of Lokman Slim, the powers that be are incapable of controlling everything. An essay by Elias Khoury What’s the difference between an assassination and an execution? This is the headache of a question facing Lebanese; it existed before Lokman Slim was killed, and it looks likely to preoccupy people for a long while to come. The question goes to the heart of the cultural scene and the intellectuals in Lebanon, Egypt and the Arab Levant. ....