A new take on the genre of city symphony/documentary essay, Eid’s film offers a complex and poetic inquiry into Beirut’s underground and the roots of conflict in her country. (Variety)
Panoptic is a visual work, but Eid’s ability to play these images against experimental soundscapes results in a harrowing, affecting and captivating debut. (4:3 - Four Three Film)
Content Panoptic is a letter from a daughter to her deceased father in an attempt to reconcile with her country’s turbulent past. Panoptic delves into Beirut’s underground to explore Lebanon’s schizophrenia: a nation that thrives for modernity while ironically ignoring the vices that obstruct achieving this modernity. While the Lebanese population has chosen to turn a blind eye to these vices, Rana Eid, an ordinary citizen, explores the nation’s paradoxes through sound, iconic monuments and secret hidings. In a rare case where the sound landscape of a film dictates the visual landscape, Panoptic is a depiction of the turbulent Lebanese past and the way society copes with trauma.
DVD-Info documentary, Rana Eid, Lebanon 2017, 69 min, Arabic Subtitles: English, French, Spanish synopsis, credits, director's bio PAL, region free
Subjects Childhood, Civil War, Memory, Father-Daughter-Relation, Soundscape
Awards Best Feature-Length Documentary Debut Film - Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival Best Feature Film - Cinemigrante Buenos Aires Award in the Human Latitudes Section - DocsMX Special Mention - LatinArab Film Festival
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