Lebanon’s ‘Postwar’ Hauntings w/ Ely Dagher (E71)

This is a conversation with Lebanese director Ely Dagher. He is the director of the Palme D’Or-winning Waves ’98, one of my favorite short films. He also has an upcoming feature  film called The Sea Ahead.Topics discussed:Waves ’98The image of the cityThe 2015 ‘You Stink’ Lebanon uprising: context/backgroundThe  feeling of history repeating itself: Waves ’98 features the 1998 waste  crisis which led to the 2015 waste crisis (which led to the uprising)Inter-generational anxiety: ‘I don’t want to end up like them’On resilience and why it’s a failed notionThe ‘ghostly figure’ in literature and movies, including in LebanonHaunting from the future, the feel of being stuck (permanent liminality)The post-August 2020 port of Beirut momentInteresting comparisons between Lebanon and Hong Kong, and their relationship with the past and futureHow do we live day to day while also being in a state of anxiety? (his upcoming film)How Beirut is portrayed in Waves ’98 and how Beirut has changed since the 90sThe relationship to the city and the sea in BeirutBeirut as a ghost townHauntings in Waves ’98 and in real life; cyclical hauntingsOur peculiar relationship with TelevisionOur complicated relationship with the sea growing up in post-1990s LebanonThe politics of decay (my essay on the topic)war/post-war vs war/not-warThe anticipation of violence‘wartime’Is there a way out of that cyclical haunting?Recommended Books & MoviesThe Agony of Power by Jean BaudrillardPersona by Ingmar BergmanCaché by Michael HanekeThe music is by Tarabeat.