The port of Beirut had a deadly ammonium nitrate explosion on August 4, 2020, killing over 200 people and affecting thousands. Nicola von Leffern and Jakob Carl Sauer’s intimate, immensely powerful “To Close Your Eyes and See Fire” swoops over three years following the incident.
The microcosmic storytelling gathers four perspectives. These are individuals across ages and strata. The youngest is the teenage girl Aya, who had witnessed the explosion from a rooftop and since relies on anti-anxiety medication. But the city barely has supplies. There’s the Aladdin family that lost a son; Andrea, a dancer, struggles with grief over her dead father through movement therapy. Finally, there’s the activist Selim, who tries to make sense of the trauma and tragedy he encounters through painting.
How does trauma manifest itself in the long run? Scars can be deeply emotional and entrenched on such a psychological level that one has to...
The microcosmic storytelling gathers four perspectives. These are individuals across ages and strata. The youngest is the teenage girl Aya, who had witnessed the explosion from a rooftop and since relies on anti-anxiety medication. But the city barely has supplies. There’s the Aladdin family that lost a son; Andrea, a dancer, struggles with grief over her dead father through movement therapy. Finally, there’s the activist Selim, who tries to make sense of the trauma and tragedy he encounters through painting.
How does trauma manifest itself in the long run? Scars can be deeply emotional and entrenched on such a psychological level that one has to...
- 10/3/2024
- by Debanjan Dhar
- High on Films
Taskovski Films Sales has picked up documentary “To Close Your Eyes and See Fire,” directed by Nicola von Leffern and Jakob Carl Sauer. The film will have its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival.
The film follows the after-effects of the explosion in Beirut, which left the city in ruins. Collective trauma rises to the surface. How can life succeed after such a tragedy?
The film carefully observes the following three years and zooms in on the lives of Aya – a Syrian refugee girl, Selim – an activist and painter, the Aladdin family – mourning a tragic loss, Yasmin – picking up calls at a suicide prevention hotline, and Andrea – who still believes in the city‘s spark for change. Meanwhile, a smoldering fire keeps on lingering in the port’s silos like a cautionary tale. Is it time to leave?
The film is directed and produced by Jakob Carl Sauer and Nicola von Leffern.
The film follows the after-effects of the explosion in Beirut, which left the city in ruins. Collective trauma rises to the surface. How can life succeed after such a tragedy?
The film carefully observes the following three years and zooms in on the lives of Aya – a Syrian refugee girl, Selim – an activist and painter, the Aladdin family – mourning a tragic loss, Yasmin – picking up calls at a suicide prevention hotline, and Andrea – who still believes in the city‘s spark for change. Meanwhile, a smoldering fire keeps on lingering in the port’s silos like a cautionary tale. Is it time to leave?
The film is directed and produced by Jakob Carl Sauer and Nicola von Leffern.
- 9/26/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
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