beirut

Is it possible to paint a definitive portrait of any country, city, chapter of the past or even moment? Do You Love Me has an answer, and also is an answer. The remarkable debut feature from Lana Daher, who co-writes with editor Qutaiba Barhamji, this essayistic documentary springs from a void: as the film’s opening text advises viewers, contemporary history is not taught in schools in Lebanon. To explore and chronicle the nation’s recent experiences, then, Daher and Barhamji splice together media from over 20,000 sources, such as movies, fellow docos, TV, music, podcasts, publications, photographs, news footage, found footage and home videos. Their resulting collage weaves and sways through snippets from its Beirut-focused treasure trove, and between years, like a dance — that act of physical expression that, every second that it takes place, conveys shapes, forms, movements and emotions with immediacy and passion yet is always and inescapably subjective.