Ideas worth spreading

How film captures the space between hope and despair

1,940,855 views |

Mounia Akl |

TEDWomen 2021

• December 2021

When Lebanon was rocked by a massive explosion at the port of Beirut, filmmaker Mounia Akl came face-to-face with chaos -- and the power of art to create some sense of order. In this poetic, moving talk, Akl shares the story of how she and her crew finished their film as the city recovered from disaster, discovering the truth that comes out of us in times of crisis and creating a new understanding of home in the process.

When Lebanon was rocked by a massive explosion at the port of Beirut, filmmaker Mounia Akl came face-to-face with chaos -- and the power of art to create some sense of order. In this poetic, moving talk, Akl shares the story of how she and her crew finished their film as the city recovered from disaster, discovering the truth that comes out of us in times of crisis and creating a new understanding of home in the process.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Learn more about how to help Lebanon survive the Beirut port explosion crisis.

Learn more about how Beirut DC is striving to empower filmmakers and audiences from every corner of the Arab world.

Explore the Green Guide, a step-by-step system of deep green solutions that you can integrate into your next film production.

About the speaker

Mounia Akl

Film director, screenwriter

See speaker profile

Filmmaker Mounia Akl's work explores our relationship to home in a world that can feel toxic and unsafe.

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This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Learn more about how to help Lebanon survive the Beirut port explosion crisis.

Learn more about how Beirut DC is striving to empower filmmakers and audiences from every corner of the Arab world.

Explore the Green Guide, a step-by-step system of deep green solutions that you can integrate into your next film production.