Beirut, The Aftermath
A month after the blast, one woman walks 10,452 steps to give Beirut a voice.
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About the Film
A month after the 4 August blast, an artist returns to Beirut to help rebuild what she can of her broken city. Retracing her usual itinerary of 10,452 steps through its streets, she seeks to portray the aftermath of the explosion that shook Lebanon to its core.
A journey that once served self-discovery now gives both Beirut and the blast's survivors a voice. Raw testimonies and powerful scenes recount the day everything collapsed, all while showing the resilience of a people who don't want to give up. Individuals from all walks of life finally open up after what seemed like a lifetime of silence. The artist's feet carry her through this journey, a camera in hand, her heart on her sleeve: a chapter in history.
Why This Film
Born in Spain in 1975 while war raged in Lebanon, Fadia Ahmad grew up with a fairytale image of a country she did not know. She arrived in 1991 as the civil war was ending and found she could not belong. Years before the blast she began a journey of 10,452 steps through Beirut, symbolic of the 10,452 km² of Lebanese territory, photographing as she walked from Mar Mkhayel through Gemmayze to the Sporting Club. The walk became the Beyrouth Beirut exhibition and book, and then, after the explosion, her first documentary.
Shooting began on 4 September 2020, exactly a month after the blast. There was no time limit on her encounters: the survivors were given the time and respect to say whatever they needed to say, and the process was therapeutic for everyone involved, the crew included.
The film is a memoir of Lebanon with archival value. It deliberately seems to end at different moments, symbolising a neverending story with no defined beginning and no defined end.
Festivals, Awards & Screenings
Selected by festivals worldwide in 2022, and screened in universities and cultural institutions from 2021 to 2023.
Awards
Best Documentary, Best Female Director and Best Mention Production, FICOCC Five Continents (Venezuela). Best Feature Documentary, Argenteuil International Film Festival (France). 2nd place, short film category, Lebanese Film Festival in Canada.
Selected festivals, 2022
Lebanese Film Festival Australia (Sydney); La Femme International Film Festival (California); Lebanese Independent Film Festival (Beirut); Socially Relevant Film Festival NY, with LAU NY; Aarhus Arab Film Festival (Denmark); Rabat International Film Festival (Morocco); Lebanese Film Festival in Canada; Arab Women Artists Now Festival (London); Festival du Film Libanais (Paris).
Educational screenings, 2021-2023
Duke University; Princeton University; University of Bologna; Casa Árabe (Spain); University of St Andrews; University of Exeter; Saint Joseph University (Beirut, Saida, Tripoli); AWAN special screening and book signing (London).
Awards & Recognition
- Best Documentary, Best Female Director & Best Mention Production, FICOCC Five Continents (Venezuela)
- Best Feature Documentary, Argenteuil International Film Festival (France)
- 2nd Place, Short Film Category, Lebanese Film Festival in Canada
- Official Selection 2022: Lebanese Film Festival Australia, La Femme IFF, Aarhus Arab Film Festival, Rabat IFF, AWAN London and others
Film Crew
Main Credits
- Directed by
- Fadia Ahmad
- Producer
- Zeina Haddad
- Written by
- Fadia Ahmad & Maya Abou Jreiche
- Directors of Photography
- Gilbert Bou Zeid (Lebanon); Paco Melendez Cortijo (Spain)
- Audio Producer
- Tony Kalaany
- Editor
- Obsom11 – Hani Khashfeh
- Voice
- Doris Sayegh
- Music Orchestration & Programming
- David Kahaleh
- “Beirut Song”, Lyrics & Voice
- Lorette Helou
- Sound Mix
- Audiotakes
- With the participation of
- Elie Al Halabi, Nerses Der Ohanneian, Maria Halios, Raffi Kayayan, Edouard Bitar, Yara Fares Bitar, Naila Kettaneh Kunigk, Toni Helou, Fadi Saliba, Monika Schmutz Kirgoz, Sherif Aoun, Lea Ghorayeb, Mariam Hamieh, Katia El Awar, Maya Abou Chedid, Michel Abchee, Maha Attie
Director
Fadia Ahmad
Photographer & Filmmaker
Fadia Ahmad is a Lebanese-Spanish photographer and filmmaker whose work explores the profound ties between identity, memory and roots. Born and raised in Spain, of Lebanese origin, she returned to Beirut in 2002 after years of exile during Lebanon's civil war, and brings a transnational perspective to a practice that blends documentary filmmaking and contemporary art photography.
In 2020, following the August 4 Beirut explosion, she directed the documentary Beirut, the Aftermath (2021), selected by festivals worldwide. It won Best Feature Documentary at the Argenteuil International Film Festival and Best Documentary and Best Female Director at FICOCC Five Continents (Venezuela), and has screened at universities including Princeton, Duke and the University of Bologna.
TOGETHER was completed in 2024 and began touring international festivals before its theatrical release at Metropolis Cinema in Beirut in 2025. Her photography has been exhibited in museums and institutions across Europe, the Middle East and the United States, and in 2022 she was named one of the 50 most influential women contemporary artists in Larousse's L'Art Contemporain par les Femmes.
In June 2026, Ahmad presented her latest exhibition participation in Tanger at Gallery Kent, as part of the Photo Tanger Festival. Meanwhile, she launched her second book, Echos – Echoes, published by Éditions Norma and authored by Pascale Le Thorel. The book is available internationally online, as well as in selected museums and libraries across France.
In October 2026, Together was granted a second theatrical release in Beirut at Grand Cinemas ABC Ashrafieh & Dbayeh.
Stills
Screening Requests
Beirut, The Aftermath is available for screenings, community events, and licensing. Whether you're a curator, educator, or festival programmer, we'd love to help you share it.
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