Around the Pink House

Synopsis

Years after the Lebanese civil war, the owner of a shelled residential building known as the ‘pink house’ schedules its demolition in ten days so it can be replaced by a commercial centre. This decision divides the neighbourhood, with residents resisting and shop owners and developers advocating for the centre in the pursuit of modernity and better economic opportunity. Seen through the perspective of a photojournalist, the personal stories of those living in the pink house are unveiled, and the wounds and dreams of a strange postwar period appear. The families being evicted must relocate again, with little compensation from the government. This situation leads to residents’ resistance to the circumstances imposed on them, with petitions, food boycotts, division lines, intimidation, conciliation and deals.