Lebanon’s General Security censorship committee has banned Danielle Arbid’s latest feature ‘Beirut Hotel’. Despite already being scheduled for a January release, the film was cancelled due to the conclusion that ‘the film’s depiction of the political situation would endanger Lebanon’s security’.

‘Beirut Hotel’ is a racy love story set in a post-war atmosphere of paranoia and political instability. Following Zoha, a Lebanese singer who meets French lawyer, Mathieu, the pair begin a complicated love affair mixed with spying and betrayal. Abi Samra plays Abbas, a shady figure and former friend of Mathieu who holds a national secret regarding the assassination of Hariri.

What was it within the film that the censorship committee were unhappy with?
I think in Lebanon we have a very delicate society. When you are an artist you cannot work with this situation. The security and politicians in this country always have this paranoia.

Do you think the authorities are just over-sensitive?
We don’t have an association in this government that’s responsible for making decisions. The guy who decides this film is good or bad should be a person who has a cultural vision. It’s just an official. This is horrible for all the artists in Lebanon. I think because some politicians don’t like the idea in the film they stop it.

Do you think there is any truth behind the censorship committee’s claim that this film is a security risk for the country?
For sure no. Do you think a film is able to do this? It’s very ridiculous. This is all political.

Are you happy for a film you’ve worked on to be heavily edited if that’s the only way to see it released?
If you cut some parts you'll feel that there’s something missing; it’s not a film if it’s been re-edited by the censorship authorities. They should go themselves and make a film [laughs]. It’s no longer the director’s film, so I'm against the film being screened after being cut and re-edited.

What can people do to fight for this film to be shown in Lebanon?
I think we can pressure the Minister of Culture, and we have a lawyer to fight. We can make a case for this all the way. This is the best case against censorship. If this film isn’t shown in Lebanon it will be catastrophic for directors and films.

To learn more about the film, check out our interview with director Danielle Arbid.