Co-Presentation with the Toronto Palestine Film Festival

Images Festival is pleased to co-present Erased,___Ascent of the Invisible (2018) by Ghassan Halwani at the Toronto Palestine Film Festival.

Friday, September 20, 9:15pm 

TIFF Bell Lightbox 

350 King St W 

Toronto, ON 

M5V 3X5

Something catches Ghassan Halwani's eye as he walks past a Beirut city wall covered in layers of torn posters — the partial face of a man that he had witnessed being kidnapped 25 years ago during the civil war. So begins the director's powerful journey through the gentrifying streets of Beirut to uncover — literally — the faces of those who disappeared during Lebanon's 15 year conflict. The film beautifully uses hand-drawn animation, interviews and archival photographs to shed light on this politically loaded subject and shows how the dead live forever amidst the political and legal complications.

Ghassan Halwani lives and works in Beirut. After his short animated film Jibraltar (2005), he was mainly involved in collaborations with Lebanese and Arab filmmakers, playwrights, contemporary artists, publishers, and musicians. Among his contributions: a short animation film closing the feature documentary Lebanese Rocket Society by Khalil Joreige and Joanna Hadjithomas, a long contribution on several plays and installations with Lebanese Playwright and artist Rabih Mroué, and an animated music video Takhabot with Palestinian musician Tamer Abu Ghazaleh. Erased,___ Ascent of the Invisible is his second film and first feature.

Buy tickets here. For more details on the screening, visit the official program page here.

Image: Ghassan Halwani, Erased,___Ascent of the Invisible, 2018.