Inaugurated 25 years ago and closed for nearly a decade, the Lebanese Cinematheque has reopened.
During its re-inauguration on May 14th at the National Library of Lebanon, the Minister of Culture, Ghassan Salamé, expressed his desire to safeguard the country’s cinematic cultural heritage despite the war. Cultural infrastructure has been affected, he said, adding that since the beginning of the Israeli bombing campaign, “six public libraries have been completely destroyed.”
The project is supported by the French Centre National du Cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC), which provided equipment worth €130,000. The Holy Spirit University of Kaslik and NDU University of Beirut have also signed contracts with the Ministry to participate in film restoration.
Since its re-opening, the public has been able to view an inaugural exhibition showcasing the collections. A week dedicated to Lebanese cinema was also organised in eight cities, where classic films from the 1950’s and 1960’s were screened.
Ghassan Salamé also announced plans to bring together various scattered collections while continuing fund-raising to build a heritage fund. “We will first try to re-assemble everything the Cinematheque had before, in addition to what has been produced in Lebanon in recent years. This requires a colossal amount of work,” he stated.
Sources : L’Orient le Jour, Aman, Daily Beirut
