Lost in time and translation, images transport us on a journey behind the modernist facade of Beirut’s electricity building. The images shot on super 8 are accompanied by droning noises reminiscent of experimental, electronic sounds of the 1950's and 60s. The video portrays Lebanon’s National Electricity building as an homage to a once modernist project linked to the very construction of Lebanon’s modern state. The site depicted here is the so-called EDL building. The headquarters of Electricité Du Liban (Electricity of Lebanon), also known as Beirut's electricity building, is a symbol of ongoing social and political conflicts. Since the days of the civil war, Beirut and its suburbs have experienced several hours of power cuts a day. There have been violent protests over who controls the actual power switch which reflect Lebanon's confessional divisions. Due to the building's close proximity to the port, on August 4, 2020, the building was damaged and destroyed in large parts. Many people died in the building, most of them late shift workers who stayed behind in the building after their shifts had ended. In 2011, I had gotten a one- day permit to film and document the building from inside and outside. On that one day, I was allowed into the building from 8am to 5pm like any other employee at EDL, not knowing that soon after there would be a bomb sleeping across the street. As the building and its surroundings became crime scenes, my 2011 footage became eye-witness archival material.

Soundtrack: Christian Blumberg
Produced by Ashkal Alwan Video Works 2012
with the support of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts 

WATCH EXTRACT
3min, super8 on video, 2011
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