Filmed from 2018 to 2022, the sobering documentary “In the Shadow of Beirut” tracks four families living in poverty in the capital of Lebanon. The directors, Stephen Gerard Kelly and Garry Keane, look at the bare facts of existence in a country that has endured, since 2019: an economic crisis, the coronavirus pandemic, a port explosion, Israel’s war with Hezbollah and a leadership vacuum.
In contrast to the numbing effects of news reports, Kelley and Keane choose a human-scale approach to show life in the impoverished neighborhoods of Sabra and Shatila. Their observational approach is sculpted through dramatic focus, with voice-overs from members of each family.
For the Abeed family, the center of attention is Abu Ahmad, a doughty 8-year-old boy who works in a food stall instead of going to school. The Daher family dote on their small daughter with a debilitating skin condition, while Aboodi Ziyani, a young father, feels reinvigorated by caring for his baby son, but struggles to secure employment after serving time in prison. Perhaps the most harrowing story thread is the Kujeyje family, in which Sanaa, a 13-year-old girl, is pushed into an engagement with an adult man.
It’s a film explicitly about precarity, as well as love. Each family’s origins add other root causes of misery: Abu Ahmad’s mother is a Syrian refugee, while the Daher parents are marginalized as members of the Dom community. The four stories are almost overwhelming to witness all packed together, but the mission to communicate them to a larger audience is admirable.
In the Shadow of Beirut
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 32 minutes. Available to rent or buy on most major platforms.
