Cheers, to Those Who Stay
Directed by Pierre Minhondo, Justin EelesKyle, a 23-year old American student filmmaker of Lebanese origins, faces a director's block for his final-year project. He decides to take a step back, and goes back to his native country for the first time. From the second he lands in Beirut stems a huge culture shock that makes him discover what he could have been, had his parents not emigrated to the US soon after he was born. Since he's staying at his cousins', he ends up living 'Beirut' as a Beiruti, rather than a simple tourist. Not only does he perceive the city and the lives of Lebanese as a filmmaker, but his outstanding position makes him see typical things that locals do not pay attention to anymore. Throughout his stay, he slowly gets out of his block when he realizes that deep down, he is not that much different from any other Lebanese.
