CFF is the first outdoors film festival of its kind in Lebanon. The festival, which was launched in 2009 by “Laboratoire D’art”, has become an annual short film event which celebrates and promotes local and international short films as an independent form of art in a non-competitive public event, away from competition, prizes and entrance fees.
This year, the theme of CFF has been set as "HOME".
What is home?
Is it the warmth of the bird’s nest in the canopy, or the open skies of the harpy eagle hovering above the rainforest?
Is it the nostalgia of a framed moment in time, or a connected window with all the promises of the future?
Is home a place, or a face? A space, or a soul?
Is it a couch, or a trampoline?
Is it a cage, or the ultimate freedom?
Is it a rigid quarter that forces us to hide our truth, or a safe haven to live by our own true colors?
Is it where we belong now, where we long for, or where we come from?
Over the past few years, and with the fallouts of the global pandemic and inflation, the debate of what home represents has been elevated. The spectrum of endless possibilities of what one can achieve while at home has proved to be tremendously expansive during the long months of lockdown and restrictions. But the changes in life’s dynamics have left its marks on the individual and the society. Children, adults and elderly people were equally affected: education, isolation, multitasking, loneliness, sickness, mental health, to name but a few of the multifaceted challenges.
However, it is still undeniable that through it all, Freedom was a state of mind. And within the confinements of space, be it a place or a body, we are free to choose our own identity, belonging and attitude. We are free to reshape the space to our image or just be defined and even encompassed by it. Home, our comfort zone and secure environment, or maybe the scariest of places haunted with secrets, prototypes and judgements.
For many of us at Cabriolet Film Festival, Beirut is HOME and Saint Nicolas Stairs our living room. We have been around and invested -- body and soul – for 15 years now and wherever the screenings take us beyond all borders to beautiful encounters, we bring the world to Beirut every year.
Hence, for our 15th edition, the Crystal celebration, HOME was evidently the theme. It was just crystal clear! A new milestone to which we would love to invite you. Your films, ideas and experiences are eagerly longed-for. Welcome to Cabriolet Film Festival 2023.
The main purpose of the CFF is to bring short films to the public, right in the streets of Beirut, free of entrance and away from competitions. Therefore, no prizes or awards are part of this public event.