Beirut: The Encounter

1981 1h 37m AR

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 4

WarDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Zeina is a Catholic student whose good friend Haidar, a Muslim, has always been particularly close. After a futile attempt to get together (he gets caught in traffic), they each decide to make an audio tape trying to explain, based on their own ideas, why there continues to be fighting in Lebanon now, in 1977, and why they are against it. Zeina is about to leave for the United States and Haidar is to meet her at the airport, where they will exchange their tapes. Alas, fate intervenes because when he arrives early at the airport, he is harassed by someone looking to prey on gullible refugees and he gets so angry that he grabs a taxi out of there, throwing his tape away as he does so. When Zeina arrives and realizes he is not there, she is broken-hearted.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Haithem el Amine
Nadine Acoury
Najoua Haydar
Houcem Sabbah
Renée Dick
Raafet Haydar

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Borhane Alaouié
Writers: Ahmed Beydoun
Languages: Arabic
Countries: Belgium, Lebanon, Tunisia

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Belgium, Lebanon, Tunisia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Borhane Alaouié, shot by Alexis Grivas. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Eliane Du Bois shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Haithem el Amine and Nadine Acoury and Najoua Haydar carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0132762 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 4 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Borhane Alaouié directs. Alexis Grivas behind the camera. Eliane Du Bois cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Belgium, Lebanon, Tunisia. Dialogue in Arabic.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

145 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 3 countries: Belgium, Lebanon, Tunisia.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Borhane Alaouié, shot by Alexis Grivas. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Eliane Du Bois shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Haithem el Amine and Nadine Acoury and Najoua Haydar carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0132762 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 4 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.