Phantom Beirut

Phantom Beirut is set in Lebanon at the end of the 1980s, as Khalil returns home after ten years of absence. A decade earlier, during the civil war, Khalil used the cover of chaos and fire during a battle to fake his death and acquire a new identity. Full of ghosts and memories, and deftly utilising documentary elements, Ghassan Salhab’s debut feature film is a haunting exploration of the official silences and collective amnesias that stalk the lives of those who live through conflict. Presented in its newly-restored version, Phantom Beirut has launched the career of film auteur Ghassan Salhab. Through his six feature fiction films, numerous documentaries, video works and essays that all defy traditional genre filmmaking archetypes, and with a very distinct cinematic approach, Salhab continues to dissect the aftermath of the civil war on the Lebanese citizens.