[LCM Events] Fairuz Event TONIGHT

[Zeina Ghaleb Saab]

Dear All,

Don't forget to pass by 1-190 *tonight* for an exciting event that will draw
Lebanese from around the Boston community.

The highlight of the evening will be a screening of an award-winning documentary
on Fairuz.

In addition, a fundraiser will be held to support Lebanese charities, including
SESOBEL -- an organization dedicated to helping disabled children and their
families.

Details:

Date: Wednesday, March 19
Time: 6:30pm
Location: 1-190
http://whereis.mit.edu/map-jpg?selection=1&Buildings=go

Please note that this is a FREE event.

The agenda for the evening will be as follows:

6:30pm - Lebanese dinner will be served
7:15pm - Presentation/Fundraiser for SESOBEL and other Lebanese charities
7:30pm - Documentary Screening on Fairuz

The following website provides details on SESOBEL:
http://www.sesobel.org/english/index.asp

For more information on the documentary, please see the description below.

Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me.

We look forward to hosting a large crowd of students and professionals!
Please spread the word!

Best,
Zeina

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For half a century, the Lebanese singer Fairuz has been a living legend in the
Arab world. Her home is Beirut, once a thriving seaport known as "the Paris of
the Middle East," and a haven for those fleeing religious or ethnic
persecution. In 1975, however, a civil war that was to rage for fifteen years
disrupted this idyllic situation. Throughout the civil war Fairuz remained in
Beirut, and everyone - whether Christian, Muslim, left-wing or right-wing,
people from all the groups that were murdering each other - continued to love
this singer with the nightingale voice.

WE LOVED EACH OTHER SO MUCH portrays the love of diverse Beirut inhabitants for
this diva. Through the music, and the myths that grew around Fairuz, they tell
their life stories, and narrate the tragic, stirring history of their city.
Their reminiscences, combined with Fairuz' songs and her story, provide a
moving commentary on Lebanon's tumultuous history, traces of which are still
visible in Beirut's devastated cityscape and bullet-scared building.

Today Fairuz is a cultural phenomenon whose appeal has spread far beyond the
Arab world. Offering viewers a revealing and captivating introduction to this
singer, and her place in Lebanese history and culture, WE LOVED EACH OTHER SO
MUCH also powerfully shows how music and the emotions it stirs can transcend
political and religious differences.

"Offers many wonderful moments, both light and intense. Fairuz's songs seem to
make the difficult situation of the Middle East easier for everyone." Al
Jadid: A Review & Record of Arab Culture and Arts

"Highly Recommended! Just as great writing does, all great filmmaking transcends
its subject. WE LOVED EACH OTHER SO MUCH is supposed to be about the legendary
Arab singer Fairuz, but is so much more. Intimate and poignant... documentary
filmmaking at its finest." Educational Media Reviews Online

** 2004 Middle East Studies Association FilmFest
** 2004 San Francisco Arab Film Festival
** 2004 Vancouver International Film Festival

Directed by Jack Janssen
Produced by Pieter Van Huystee