This afternoon at 7 pm, Casa Árabe, in collaboration with IEMed, organizes the screening of the documentary La guerra de Miguel (Miguel’s War), followed by a colloquium that will be attended by its director, the Lebanese Eliane Raheb. Screening in original version subtitled in Spanish (VOSE).
This documentary tells the story of a gay man who grows up oppressed and embarrassed during the Lebanese civil war. Raised by a conservative Catholic father and an authoritarian Syrian mother, Miguel’s adolescence is characterized by a deep inferiority complex. In 1983, this deeply sensitive boy, desperate to prove he “exists” and can act as a “real man,” joins the fight as part of an armed faction. But their experience is a failure.
Traumatized, he emigrates to Madrid, where he seeks liberation through debauchery. A series of destructive relationships lead him to an attempt at suicide. Trying to get himself together, Miguel becomes an interpreter and translator in Barcelona. Only then, thirty-seven years after leaving Lebanon, does Miguel feel ready to face the traumas and ghosts of the past, regain his emotional balance and perhaps find love.
The subsequent meeting with the director will be moderated by Karim Hauser, coordinator of Cultural Programs at Casa Árabe. The colloquium can be followed live on the Casa Árabe channel on YouTube.
Eliane Raheb is a filmmaker and documentary director from Lebanon. She made her directorial debut with her 2012 film, Layali Bala Noom (Sleepless Nights), followed by Those Who Remain in 2018. His latest film is Miguel’s War, which received the Teddy Award for Best LGBTW Film at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival.
