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In our country which is going through times of destruction, bankruptcy and corruption, living art is not an escape forward or backward; no, living art is first of all an indispensable practice of our duty of resistance, our responsibility towards the youth and the future. It is also a way to reveal our humanity, its strength but also its frailness. Gilles Deleuze asserted: Art is what resists: it resists death, servitude, infamy, shame.
And we, at BAFF, are 100% art, 100% resistance, 100% continuity.

In a famous article published in the Corriere della Sera in 1975, entitled The Disappearance of the Fireflies, Pier Paolo Pasolini, whose 100th anniversary we have just celebrated, condemns the relationship between the powerful, overpowering and overwhelming lights of power and the surviving lights of humanity, the fireflies. If the poet-director ended up giving up on this resistance, we, in Lebanon, who have been drowning in the darkness of hell since 1975, continue to hope, observe and believe in our fireflies, our Lebanese women who continue to fight for a bright future.
And it is in the darkness of our daily life that the sparkle of our fireflies becomes invaluable.

At a time when the Lebanese people are losing hope and setting sail, we have decided to remain and continue.
In this print-trophy created for the festival by Alia Mouzannar, this continuity is represented by a robust tree deeply rooted in the land. And all around this tree, fireflies swirl, wonderfully embodied by Muriel Aboulrouss and Denise Jabbour, the founders of the Lebanese web series Zyara.

Dear Denise,
Dear Muriel,
We met for the first time in 2016, at your beginnings and ours at BAFF. And you had produced, with the support of the US Embassy Beirut, 3 moving portraits of artists including the one of Pierre Geagea who has since made it.
The web series Zyara that you launched in 2014 was very quickly met with numerous international successes and worthy recognition!

You skillfully portray people who have overcome great challenges in life and kept moving forward with faith and positiveness.
In the 84 portraits you have completed since your debut, you allow the voice of to those who will never be seen under the powerful and overwhelming lights of power to be heard. These poetic portraits tell authentic stories of resilience full of emotion; they are more than poetic portraits, they are lessons of life and love for all Lebanese.
Yes, like fireflies, you light up our nights.

And far from glitter and glitz, this distinction that the BAFF organizers wished to grant you is not a reward, but a recognition of your commitment; a sincere thank you and an expression of our admiration for your courage and your perseverance.
Today, your talent stars, to brighten up the darkness of our daily lives.

During the year 2023, the festival, through its platform BAFF @ Schools, will feature screenings of Zyara – Season 7 in Lebanon’s schools.

Because art is what resists: it resists death, servitude, infamy and shame.
Alice Mogabgab. BAFF Founder & Artistic Director.