Saturday was a celebration of young Lebanese talent at Sofil Achrafieh.
Almost anybody who was remotely related to film was holed up in an unbearably hot Sofil theater. Many stood standing up. Some sat in strategic places on the slanting floor. Periodically, the crowd would cheer when the camera froze for a split second on a face on the screen freezing it for eternity.
The latest darling of Lebanese college fans Mashrou Layla had several video clips showing one of which was "Raksit Layla" directed by Jad Sarout, Chadi Aoun, and Yasmine Sarout.
Mashrou Layla mix jazz with Arabic lyrics that, at times, even outdo the king of unconvential slang in Lebanese song, Ziad Rahbani. The group consists of college students (the band's name means Plan of an overnight).
Two of the most innovative of the clips were directed by Pedros Temizian who made his debut with the classic "Prelude to an Abyss" by underground Lebanese group The Replacements.
The first clip by Temizian, Bullets Gently Dancing Over My Head was a clip that perfectly captured the manic mood of a partying Beirut of the third millenium.The clip had been first shown at the Lebanese Film Festival in 2009.
Temizian's second clip was Fog El Nakhel by Zeid Hamdan sung by Hiba Kawass.The song featured the singer asleep in bed next to her husband with her baby peacefully sleeping on his father's chest.
The most political clip was General Suleiman, a Lebanese "Smells Like Teen Spirit" anthem for disenchanted Lebanese youth who tell politicians in the video to go home.
General Suleiman is directed By Gigi Rocatti who studied at London Film School. His Film project Chloe Travels opened doors for him at Universal Studios. Rocatti has recently filmed Road to Kabul, a documentary shot in Afghanistan and is currently working on his first feature film entitled , Beirut, I Love You.
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