After having thoroughly searched, documented, shot, archived and thus immortalized last year’s excruciating events, two Lebanese filmmakers have been recently awarded international first-prizes, respectively for the best documentary of the European and Mediterranean Film Festival on the TV of the Sea in Maddalena, Italy, (« The Oil Spill in Lebanon » by Hady Zaccak) and the best short documentary of the New Zealand Documentary Festival (DOC NZ) (« A Summer Not to Forget » by Carole Mansour). Let’s give the floor to the two filmmakers!

iloubnan.info: Hady Zaccak, why did you decide to shoot « The Oil Spill in Lebanon » documentary?
Hady Zaccak- When the war started, I felt totally lost and failed to understand what was happening. In an attempt to find answers, I started to film the displaced populations from the South. Then, following the bombardment of the Jiyyeh power plant, and the resulting spill of around 15,000 tons of toxic fuel into the Mediterranean Sea, I was contacted by the World Conservation Union, which is also known as the IUCN. This international body that works for the environment protection asked me to direct a movie on the disaster, with a funding from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I obviously accepted immediately. This opportunity really came at the right time.

But were you able to film everything? Lebanon was still subject to embargo…
H.Z.- In the beginning, I used to accompany the fishermen and we filmed the spill-affected locations. However with time, I established new contacts, including with the United Nations who took me on board their helicopters and allowed me to film the entire Lebanese coast. I also made some shootings under the water. In addition to all that, I received the analyses of environmental experts, NGO’s feedback, and the testimonies of people working in the fisheries sector or dependant on the sea.

Did you face any specific difficulty during the film preparation?
H.Z.- Of course ! Beside the embargo itself, Lebanon was still in a war situation, which posed security constraints on our work. But most importantly, the filming was disturbed by politicians’ bickering and by the tense relationships between Government institutions and the NGO’s that were trying to contain the catastrophe. To be honest, I can film another movie now, only on the political pollution that resulted from the environment’s pollution.

But are you satisfied with your final product?
H.Z.- My only satisfaction is that I have been able to archive a disaster that did not seem to interest our politicians or public opinion. But I do not have any personal relationship with the film. As far as I am concerned, it was merely a transition, before moving to something more personal, like my subsequent documentary “The War for Peace”.

Tell us about this award. Do you expect others?
H.Z.- No, not really. I only sent the documentary to one festival, the one that took place in Sardinia, on Maddalena island, and was dedicated to European and Mediterranean movies on the sea. The Oil Spill in Lebanon is too technical a movie to be competitive. This being said, I am very happy about this victory, especially that the jury’s decision was taken unanimously.

Carole Mansour, why did you decide to shoot « A Summer Not to Forget » ?
Carole Mansour- When the war started, I felt so frustrated and furious that I needed to act. I felt that I had to denounce injustice against my people and mobilize the international opinion to stop the massacre. From the outset, I started to film the Lebanese displaced in Beirut, but then I was one of the first people who arrived in the South only few hours after the ceasefire.

What is the subject of your documentary?
C.M.- Our crew included five persons, including researchers and human rights specialists. As soon as we arrived, we started filming and documenting the catastrophe, with figures, testimonies and real stories. At the time, the villages were still empty, and one could smell smoke, blood and corpses. We filmed all the areas that were affected by the conflict and spoke to different people. In summary, « A Summer Not to Forget » tells the story of those who lived the war and the way they felt.
I would also like to mention that my film does not support any political position. I wanted to recount a human drama, this is the only aspect that really interests me.

How did « A Summer Not to Forget » land in New Zealand? And what about this award?
C.M.- Since I had initially targeted a foreign audience, I started to send my documentary to several universities¹. I also sent it systematically to all the international festivals around the world, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Spain where the movies’ selection is on-going. In New Zealand, my film was selected among 500 others.

How do you look at this victory?
C.M.- I was extremely surprised to learn that A Summer Not to Forget had been selected. Not only because of its violent sequences and the fierce competition, but mostly because of the pressures that are usually exerted by the Jewish lobby to prevent such documentaries. For me, the selection alone is a major victory.