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“Miguel’s War”: Film screening and colloquium
December 10, 20247:00 p.m.
MADRID
Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62).
7:00 p.m.
5 euros: general tickets at the box office.
4 euros: Tickets purchased online, the officially unemployed, Casa Árabe
Language Center students and Youth Card holders, by showing the proper
documentation. You may only receive one discount per ticket. Sales in
advance at www.casaarabe.es up to the day of the screening at 12:00 p.m.
Those tickets not sold online will be made available for purchase on
the day of the screening at Casa Árabe’s headquarters, as of one hour
before each screening (payment in cash or by debit/credit card).
Assigned seats with tickets.
The film will be shown in the original language with subtitles in Spanish.
Casa Árabe, with the cooperation of the IEMed, has organized the screening of this documentary, which will include the participation of its director, Eliane Raheb, from Lebanon. It will be taking place in Madrid on Tuesday, December 10. Buy your ticket now so you don’t miss it.
The documentary “Miguel’s War” (128 min. 2021, Lebanon, Germany, Spain) is the story of a gay man who grows up oppressed and shamed during the civil war in Lebanon. Raised by a conservative Catholic father and an authoritarian Syrian mother, Miguel’s teenage years are characterized by a profound inferiority complex. In 1983, the deeply sensitive boy, desperate to prove he “exists” and can act like “a real man,” enlists for battle as part of an armed faction. However, his experience turns out to be a huge failure.
Traumatized, he emigrates to Madrid, where he seeks personal freedom by living a life of debauchery. He goes through a series of destructive relationships that end up leading to a suicide attempt. Trying to pull himself together, Miguel becomes a translator and interpreter in Barcelona. Only then, thirty-seven years after leaving Lebanon, does Miguel feel ready to deal with the traumas and ghosts of his past, regain some emotional balance and, perhaps, find love.
Using interwoven cinematic forms in a fusion of documentary, animation, theater and archival footage in both Lebanon and Spain, this feature film offers an experience of self-confrontation, awareness and catharsis.
The screening will be followed by a meeting with filmmaker Eliane Raheb. Moderated by Karim Hauser, coordinator of Casa Árabe’s Cultural Programs. You can watch the colloquium live on Casa Árabe’s YouTube channel.
Eliane Raheb is a filmmaker and documentary director from Lebanon. She debuted as a director with a film in 2012, titled Layali Bala Noom (Sleepless Nights), followed by Those Who Remain in 2018. Her latest film is Miguel’s War. It received the Teddy Award for Best LGBTW Film at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2021.
Preview
Traumatized, he emigrates to Madrid, where he seeks personal freedom by living a life of debauchery. He goes through a series of destructive relationships that end up leading to a suicide attempt. Trying to pull himself together, Miguel becomes a translator and interpreter in Barcelona. Only then, thirty-seven years after leaving Lebanon, does Miguel feel ready to deal with the traumas and ghosts of his past, regain some emotional balance and, perhaps, find love.
Using interwoven cinematic forms in a fusion of documentary, animation, theater and archival footage in both Lebanon and Spain, this feature film offers an experience of self-confrontation, awareness and catharsis.
The screening will be followed by a meeting with filmmaker Eliane Raheb. Moderated by Karim Hauser, coordinator of Casa Árabe’s Cultural Programs. You can watch the colloquium live on Casa Árabe’s YouTube channel.
Eliane Raheb is a filmmaker and documentary director from Lebanon. She debuted as a director with a film in 2012, titled Layali Bala Noom (Sleepless Nights), followed by Those Who Remain in 2018. Her latest film is Miguel’s War. It received the Teddy Award for Best LGBTW Film at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2021.
Preview
Still from the documentary “Miguel’s War”