Future's Resistance

In this animated documentary, a young Lebanese woman recounts her story about the aftermath of the Beirut explosion. Through helping with the clean-up, and the protest that followed, her faith in her country comes into question.

  • Duncan Lauer
    Director
  • Sahar Al Akhrass
    Key Cast
    "Herself"
  • Gabrielle Miale
    Character Designer
  • Bella Ward
    Composer
  • Duncan Lauer
    Editor
  • Duncan Lauer
    Animator
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Documentary, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama, Documentary
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 56 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 24, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    60 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University of North Carolina at Greensboro
  • Raleigh Film & Art Festival
    Raleigh, North Carolina
    United States
    October 2, 2021
    Raleigh Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Real to Reel International Film Festival
    Kings Mountain, North Carolina
    United States
    July 22, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Full Bloom Film Festival
    Statesville, North Carolina
    United States
    September 9, 2021
    World Wide Premiere
    Official Selection
  • International Social Change Film Festival
    Online
    United States
    September 24, 2021
    Online Premiere
    Official Selection
  • The Impact DOCS Awards
    Online
    United States
    Award of Recognition - Documentary Short (Student) & Animation (Student)
  • Screen Power Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    Nominee - Best International Short Film
Director Biography - Duncan Lauer

Duncan is currently a student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, having transferred from UNC School of the Arts. He has experience with writing, animation, lighting, photography, and drawing. He's been making short films since he was 12 years old, and since starting college he has worked on countless student short films from both universities, with roles from Director, Cinematographer, and Production Designer. With the sudden change in the world brought by the Pandemic, he has been interested in working on documentaries.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Unfortunately for Lebanon, I think that there are so many horrible things happening all over the world that they have gone rather unnoticed the past few years as the revolution started. The Beirut Explosion shocked the world, and for a few days, all eyes were on them. Although even with that, I still meet people every day who have never even heard of it.

I had already been aware of growing problems there due to my long friendship with Sahar. After the Explosion, we had many conversations about what was happening, and specifically what she had been through afterward.

Sahar did not live in the city, and therefore there are a lot more people who had to deal with more extreme effects of this event. This was a point Sahar and I talked about a few times. Ultimately, the fact that just an everyday citizen, not even living in the city, still had to deal with everything she did is remarkably depressing.

There are many stories to tell about this, this is one of them.

This is Sahar's story.