Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation will host a series of documentary screenings by Lebanese filmmaker Hady Zaccak from Tuesday through Thursday. Screenings begin at 6:30 PM in the cinema hall and 8:00 PM in the outdoor venue at the Foundation’s headquarters in Jabal Amman.

The films revisit Lebanese memory from different perspectives, ranging from family stories and migration to the history of movie theaters and the stories of everyday objects that have witnessed major changes in society and the country.

Tuesday: Ya Omri

The series opens with “Ya Omri”, a deeply personal documentary that unfolds at its own pace, allowing meaning to emerge naturally. Beginning in 1992, Zaccak follows his grandmother, Henriette, documenting her life over more than 25 years as filming technologies evolve alongside her journey.

The film explores the memories of Henriette, who lived to the age of 104. Through her story, it recounts the history of an entire family. Living with the grandmother becomes a way of preserving and revisiting the past. The narrative begins with her memories of emigrating from Lebanon to Brazil and continues through key moments in her life, including marriage and motherhood. The film invites viewers to see the world through her eyes as she grows older and as memories from different periods of her life begin to overlap.

Visually and narratively, the documentary departs from a conventional chronological structure. Instead, it moves through footage according to the technology available at the time it was shot, blending family documents, photographs, and home videos from family gatherings. The imagery reinforces this perspective, with out-of-focus surroundings creating a visual experience that mirrors the way older people often perceive the world.

The film approaches aging from a human perspective, confronting viewers with the realities of physical decline. At the same time, it highlights love, caregiving, and the resilience of a person who holds onto her identity despite diminishing mental abilities. The result is a visual record of both the passage of time and the gradual fading of the human body.

“Ya Omri” received several international awards, including the Jury Prize at the Malmö Arab Film Festival and the Silver Award at the Geneva International Oriental Film Festival for its candid portrayal of the human experience in the face of time.

Wednesday: Selma

Wednesday’s screening features “Selma”, a colloquial Lebanese term used in place of the word “cinema.” The documentary tells the story of movie theaters in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, during a period marked by significant social, political, and cultural shifts before these cinemas faded and disappeared.

The film raises both cinematic and intellectual questions about the fate of Tripoli’s movie theaters. Through carefully selected testimonies, archival photographs, and images drawn from everyday life, Zaccak examines the role cinemas once played within the city’s social and cultural fabric.

Built on strong visual storytelling and editing, Selma combines photographs of cinema halls with images of famous Arab and international film stars from different eras. The result is a portrait of a city whose relationship with cinema reflected its wider social realities.

The film revisits moments of joy and hardship during a period when going to the movies was a regular part of life. It explores how audiences viewed films, whether simply as entertainment or, in some cases, as a source of reflection and critical thought.

One of the documentary’s strengths lies in its use of archival and visual material to reveal how cinema shaped the social and cultural life of Tripoli. The film also broadens the conversation through direct interviews with people who lived through that period, reflecting on the role of movie theaters in their lives, the events that unfolded around them, and the ways cinema expanded their cultural awareness and understanding of the world.

Thursday: Mercedes

The series concludes on Thursday with “Mercedes”, a documentary that offers an original perspective on modern Lebanese history. Using the Mercedes automobile as its point of entry, Zaccak examines six decades of social transformation in Lebanon.

After arriving from Germany in the 1950s, Mercedes vehicles became part of daily life across Lebanese society. Some models served as shared taxis closely linked to the working class, while others became associated with politicians, wealthy families, and influential figures. In this way, the Mercedes crossed social, political, and sectarian boundaries that often-divided Lebanese society.

The film also explores the distinctive nicknames Lebanese people gave to Mercedes cars, including “The Rounded One,” “The Ghost,” and “The Submarine,” reflecting the close relationship many developed with the vehicle.

Spanning the period from the 1950s to the early 2000s, the documentary traces Lebanon’s history alongside the changing role of the Mercedes. In the years before the civil war, the car became a symbol of prosperity and modernity. During the civil war years (1975–1990), it appeared at checkpoints and along front lines and, at times, became part of the conflict itself when it was used in car bomb attacks. A symbol of luxury was transformed into an instrument of violence.

For Zaccak, the Mercedes is far more than a means of transportation, it becomes a social, cultural, political, and class marker. As the car became woven into Lebanese life, it came to reflect the identities, divisions, and behaviors of the society around it. By giving the Mercedes a human-like presence and following its journey, which mirrors Lebanon’s own trajectory, Zaccak turns it into both a witness to history and a participant in it.

About Hady Zaccak

Lebanese filmmaker Hady Zaccak has taught audiovisual arts and film studies at IESAV-Saint Joseph University since 1988. He is widely considered one of the leading documentary filmmakers in the Arab world.

Over the course of his career, he has directed more than 25 documentaries, including “A History Lesson, Shi’a Echoes from Lebanon, Ya Omri, Kamal Joumblatt: Witness and Martyr, and Mercedes”. His work documents the realities of Lebanese society, capturing its struggles, hardships, moments of loss, and resilience. At the same time, his films have expanded the horizons of documentary cinema in Lebanon, offering thoughtful reflections on the country’s history, challenges, and aspirations.