Following the tragic events of the explosion in the Harbour of Beirut, Tareck Raffoul wanted to express his opinion towards the devastation and the belief the future holds better days. His mini-series, “Beirut”, shares the imagery of hope within this difficult time.

On August 4, the city of Beirut in Lebanon experienced a devastating explosion which changed forever the lives of many people. The explosion took place at 18:08 in the Harbour of Beirut resulting in at least 200 casualties and 6,000 injures. Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, stated that the cause of the explosion, which has left around 300,000 people temporarily homeless, was the improper storing of 2,750 tones of ammonium nitrate.

Lebanese filmmaker and photographer, Tareck Raffoul, was inspired to share his insights and point-of-view on the occurrences in his city through the mini-series, “Beirut”. The four images compiled in the mini-series are structured to represent the timeline of the explosion.

Tareck Raffoul
The ballons and the strings represent the date and time of the explosion.
Tareck Raffoul Beirut
The moment of the explosion.
The hopes and dreams for a better future.
The rise, post explosion.

The blast post explosion destroyed the immediate dockside-area, creating a 140m wide crater. Lebanon is currently finding itself in a stage of humanitarian emergency due to the strain on the health system, which is also heavily impacted by Covid-19.

If you feel inspired to help Beirut and its affected culture recover, consider donating on the links below:

The Lebanese filmmaker, photographer, creative director, and content creator, Tareck Raffoul, is based in Paris and Dubai. Targeting his works around Fashion and Beauty, and the Conceptual and Advertising fields, Tareck has worked with brands such as Bobbi Brown, Netflix, Mercedes, and Estee Lauder — amongst others. To see more of Tareck’s work, check out his Cherrydeck profile or his website, here.

To read more inspiring articles check out “Trash” by Tania Volobueva, or “Coral Reefs of the Future?” by Alicja Wróblewska. ?


Posted by:Cherrydeck Editorial

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