An apartment was bombed just a few kilometers from the theater on Thursday afternoon. By evening, the lobby of Beirut’s Metropolis Cinema was packed, and the screening room was at capacity.

For Hania Mroue, the founder and director of Lebanon’s only arthouse cinema, the decision to proceed with the second edition of the South Screens (Écrans du Sud) Film Festival was not a dismissal of the violence outside. It was a calculated act of defiance. As Israel intensifies air strikes in Lebanon, with a recent attack hitting the Choueifat suburb near the international airport, Mroue is betting that the city needs a shared space more than it needs to retreat into silence.

The Business of Resilience

Operating in a conflict zone is a skill set Mroue has been forced to refine for two decades. When the Metropolis Cinema first opened its doors on July 11, 2006, a war broke out the following day.

“We learn very quickly to adapt to the situation, no matter what,” Mroue told Variety just hours before the festival’s opening. “We know we cannot change the situation. It’s a choice: either you do nothing while waiting for better circumstances, or you just have to find a way to adapt.”

When the current conflict began, the theater was forced to shutter for two weeks due to the intensity of the violence. Reopening was a gamble, not just for the safety of the staff and audience, but for the programming itself. Mroue faced a delicate balance: the audience was exhausted by the news, yet they could not be expected to engage with content that ignored the reality of their lives.

Finding the Right Narrative

The festival’s opening film, Dima El-Horr’s documentary And the Fish Fly Above Our Heads, captures this tension perfectly. The film follows three aging men on a Beirut public beach, navigating the mundane and the existential in a country under siege. It is a mirror to the audience, but one that offers a perspective beyond the immediate headlines.

This strategy of curated connection has proven commercially successful. When the cinema reopened earlier this year with Lana Daher’s archival documentary Do You Love Me, the theater saw a month of sold-out screenings.

“The audience is willing to take this risk,” Mroue said. “They need to disconnect a little bit. But also, it’s this feeling that we need to be together in a place.”

A Rare Neutral Ground

In a country defined by deep political, religious, and social polarization, the Metropolis Cinema has become one of the few remaining neutral spaces in Beirut. Its location in the Mar Mikhael district—situated directly across from the site of the 2020 port explosion—serves as a constant reminder of the city’s fragility and its capacity for reconstruction.

By keeping the doors open, Mroue is providing more than just entertainment. She is maintaining a physical site for collective experience, a rare commodity in a landscape of fear and frustration. The festival, which runs through June 6, features international works from directors like Park Chan-wook and Lucrecia Martel, placing Lebanese stories within a broader global conversation.

Key Takeaways

  • Cultural Defiance: Despite air strikes hitting close to the capital, the Metropolis Cinema is maintaining a full schedule, viewing the festival as a necessary act of social cohesion.
  • Strategic Programming: Mroue avoids content that is either disconnected from the local reality or overly focused on the trauma of the news, opting for films that resonate with the collective psyche.
  • Community Hub: The theater remains one of the few places in Beirut where people from diverse political and religious backgrounds gather, serving as a vital space for unity during a time of extreme polarization.

As the festival continues, the risk remains high. But for Mroue and her audience, the alternative—staying home and waiting for the violence to subside—is no longer an option. The theater is not just surviving the war; it is creating a space that gives the current reality a sense of meaning.