Reclaiming storytelling: A new era of Lebanese cinema in London

The Garden Cinema in London has launched the UK's first full season of Lebanese cinema, offering a rich, defiant counterpoint to mainstream narratives through film.

The season, titled Reclaiming Storytelling, is the result of a collaboration between film programmers @ablakand and @clairenico of @filmsofresistance_.

It is a vivid and carefully curated journey through Lebanese cinema that unfolds over several weeks with screenings, Q&As, live music, and the warm familiarity of mezza and Lebanese wine.

The programme moves from raw shorts to sharp satire, from slow-burning drama to joyful crowd-pleasers. It resists any singular narrative and instead extends a simple invitation, asking audiences to come and see what Lebanese filmmakers see.

This is not a season that tries to simplify Lebanon. It does not try to explain it away or package it neatly. Instead, it holds space for contradiction and subtlety, for beauty and grief to sit side by side. In Abla's words, it's about "spotlighting the country" in all its cinematic light and shadow.

Interviews: Sarah Khalil
Video: Reem Khabazzy