Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano
Cyril Aris / Lebanon & Germany / 2023
A Lebanese film crew is hit by a deluge of obstacles while shooting the feature film 'Costa Brava, Lebanon'. But team spirit and a solid sense of humour win out in the end in a wonderful film about sticking together against all odds.
How much bad news can you get in a day? Quite a lot when you’re a film crew working in Lebanon. After the huge explosion at the Beirut harbour in 2020 that destroyed a large part of the capital, a film crew is faced with a decision: should they continue shooting the feature film ‘Costa Brava, Lebanon’ or give up. With shards of glass crunching under the soles of their shoes, they decide to continue, but then a thousand other plagues begin to descend on the film crew and actors. Pandemics, power and fuel shortages, a currency in free fall. But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and the team continues with a suitcase full of gallows humour and drive, and suddenly the making of the film is as much about resistance and survival as it is about finding meaning in the midst of chaos. ‘Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano’ is an impressive document of resistance and will. It is also a heartbreaking portrait of Lebanon and an existential examination of the medium of film itself.