I consider Zyara 8 to be a milestone in my life journey.. with infinite gratefulness to every artist (hero/heroine) that welcomed us in their homes. While I observe and listen, I am struck with a sense of realisation, the heroes are the messengers, their stories are guiding me to find answers, while at times, spinning me around, inviting me to raise new questions. Being amongst the team, that actually felt like a loving family of curious siblings capturing these precious moments.. the way we circled around our hero/heroine during the Zyara.. as if it was a choreographed pattern, an intuitive dance that documents deeply and purely those heroic life stories— inspiration floods through me freely, like a glowing source, watering my seedlings, patiently, while we grow inseparably.

Working on Zyara is life-changing. It literally feels like a slowly expanding family, with every visit a family member joins, we share food, life lessons and jokes. As an artist in my twenties, I was slightly ignorant about the giants that built the idea of Beirut being the cultural hub of the Arab world. Through Zyara I was given the chance to meet some of those heroes, and through their memories, I was able to have an idea of that Beirut that doesn’t exist anymore. It was such a blessing, an eye-opening expedition into a history never taught.

Zyara is a road trip to discover humanity.

Zyara was and still is beyond expectations on all levels, I have edited almost 100 Zyara so far, I never thought we will go this far but we did. What an emotional artistic journey!

Beirut is a Love Story; with an unreleased traumatic past, plenty of secrets, many whispers and Screams. I was looking forward to Watch, Listen and Work on the New season of Zyara that is specifically about some shared stories by hard working people in Beirut, from different times and perspectives. Zyara is always digging, peeling the Onion; Which is an essential process in any healing journey. I hope you’ll Enjoy the Sound and Stories…

As usual, working with Muriel Aboulrouss is always a joy. We took unconventional routes to bring out the emotion and intention behind every shot. “Zyara” was no different. Every “Zyara” had its emotion and experience from the interviewee, ranging from fear and obliteration to a hopeful and positive outlook for the future. All these emotions we portrayed in our grading of the series. It is always a pleasure to be working with a true creative professional like Muriel, who knows every person in the process of creation is an additive effect, and respects and nurtures this creativity.

Working on this latest season of Zyara has been a sensory experience for me. As much as I think I have adapted to life abroad, as much as I feel like an alien in my own hometown, Beirut, every time I start working on a new season of Zyara, I am taken back to a place inside of me, a place not many people can reach or imagine or understand, a palette of colours, smells, tastes and sounds that are the essence of Beirut and Lebanon. I carry all these in my flesh and blood. And without fail, every time I start working a Zyara episode, it all comes back out in the open. I feel human in my deepest core. I feel connected to my people, my land, my community. The war, my childhood, this messed up damaged society that gets up to fight another day, without ever giving up. This strength, resilience, humor, compassion mixed with selfish petty behaviour sometimes, all of it. It’s all weaved and so entangled, and with time and and distance away from it all – or maybe it’s just part of getting older – I look at it with more compassion and love now. You can’t love only a part of your community or roots. It’s not enough to just tolerate or accept it. You have to embrace it all. For better or worse. In sickness and in health. Till death do us part. I think what Zyara does is precisely that: showing all the open wounds and hearts of people I recognise myself in. Their wisdom in the face of what they can’t change, their foolish hope in that their life experience and gift to this great city we call home can somehow help it find joy again. And ultimately, we can find ourselves as a society again, with more unity, kindness and faith in each other.

Zyara is visual music, an emotional rainbow, and the human connection is the gold I found at the end of it. Thank you Muriel and Denise for this gift.

Coming from a life-long fascination and interest in storytelling and the significance of what is seemingly insignificant, I was a spectator of Zyara for years, before coincidence (or the stars) brought us together. Today, with so much gratitude I can say that I am part of this journey of storytelling, not only with Zyara, but the entire act of social activism that is Home of Cinejam.

Working on Home of Cine-Jam website and social media gave me the opportunity to dig deep into this journey, and what a journey it is! Zyara teaches you how to empower people instead of victimizing them, while through the Intuitive Filmlab you learn how to listen to your intuition and follow your heart – essential lessons missing from our traditional educational and schooling system. I’m grateful for being a part of this amazing journey and action.