Best Lebanese history movies

Many people first became aware of the Shatila refugee camp in Lebanon after the shocking and horrific Sabra-Shatila massacre that took place there in 1982. Located in Beirut's "belt of misery," the camp is home to 15,000 Palestinians and Lebanese who share a common experience of displacement, unemployment and poverty. Fifty years after the exile of their grandparents from Palestine, the children of Shatila attempt to come to terms with the reality of being refugees in a camp that has survived massacre, siege and starvation. Director Mai Masri focuses on two Palestinian children in the camp: Farah, age 11 and Issa, age 12. When these children are given video cameras, the story of the camp evolves from their personal narratives as they articulate the feelings and hopes of their generation.

The year is 620 A.D., North Lebanon. Living with God is men's privilege and the most unreachable women's right. Stubborn as she is, the 20 year-old revolutionary girl breaks the rules and endures all the consequences.

A feature length documentary exploring violence and social change through the stories of ex-fighters from the Lebanese Civil War.

"Thirty-five years ago, I witnessed the kidnapping of a man I knew. He has disappeared since. Ten years ago, I caught a glimpse of his face while walking in the street, but I wasn’t sure it was him. Parts of his face were torn off, but his features had remained unchanged since the incident. Yet something was different, as if he wasn’t the same man” (Ghassan Halwani).

Filmmaker Trevor Graham is an Australian 'hummus tragic'. Every week in his Bondi Beach home he observes the hummus making ritual, mashing chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic and tahina. But when the Hummus War erupted in 2008, among the usual suspects, Israel, Lebanon and Palestine, Graham was hungry for more. But this war ha no soldiers, bullets or tanks. Just chickpeas and hummus. Make Hummus Not War is a humorous homage to the chickpea's most distinguished dish. But there's a personal story, how Graham became a hummus tragic, a father who served in Palestine during WW2 and two lovers in his life, one Syrian, one Jewish, with whom he shared a great culinary passion.

The play tells the story of Socrates, the father of philosophers and one of the founders of philosophy in history. It also tells the history of Athens, the city of thought, and the story of its resistance to the occupation of the city of Sparta.

In 1970, Christian Ghazi and Noureddine Chatti met with a number of Arab political figures, especially Palestinians residing in Lebanon, resulting in this piece of armed (alternative or third) cinema that captures a crucial cross-section of the Palestinian resistance in Lebanon in 1970. The film features footage of Ghassan Kanafani, Sadiq Jalal El-Azm, Nabil Shaath and other personalities who share their vision of the Palestinian revolution, tracing its history back to the early 20th century. These testimonies describe the numerous strikes and popular protests that took place in Palestine under the Ottoman occupation, followed by the British colonization and the settlement of the Jewish state in 1948. They enumerate the objectives of the struggle, emphasising the necessity for a free and democratic Palestine, defended through armed or non-armed struggle by all its citizens, men and women of various affiliations.

Lebanese film directed by Nicolas Abou Samah, starring Father Youssef Mouannès and other Maronite friars. In 2022, in the interview given by Father Mouannes talking about the film, they continued to be a reference in Lebanon. He says that no special effects were applied in recording the striking scenes, such as the miracle of the light bulb and the different seasons of the year filmed in their natural succession. The realism of the film ended up occurring in an accident in the final scenes, where the priests carrying a stretcher slipped and knocked the actor into a frozen pond, damaging his lungs to this day.

In the tenth century AD, a Mongol tribe raids Lebanon, kidnaps the knight Hossam, and prepares to seize the tribe. Hossam's lover is able to help him escape from the grip of the Mongols, and he is able to form a fighting army to confront the invading forces. Thanks to training and determination, the Mongols are defeated by the Qaheroun brigade.

In sixth-century Mecca, Prophet Muhammad receives his first revelation from God as a messenger. Three years later, he's not alone in his quest and publicly declares his prophecy. Muhammad is fought by Abu Sufian and his wife Hind, rulers of Mecca. Muhammad's followers are hunted and tortured but he continues his calling.