The Book: A Reference Tool on a Decade of Creation
Published in 2025 by the Sharjah Art Foundation,Jocelyne Saab: Inventory 1973–1983 is a reference work that documents the first decade of creation of the Franco-Lebanese filmmaker. Conceived by Palestinian artistMohanad Yaqubi, who serves as its editorial director alongside Elettra Bisogno, the book catalogues Jocelyne Saab's first sixteen films, made between 1973 and 1983, during the Lebanese Civil War.
The book is the result of an inventory carried out within the CRAMP research program at KASK & Conservatorium in Ghent, in collaboration withMathilde Rouxel, researcher and programmer, co-founder of the Jocelyne Saab Association. It is part of a broader project of restoration and valorization of the filmmaker's archives, initiated after her death in 2019.
A Dive into the Militant Archives of the 1970s
The book offers a detailed index of the sixteen films made by Jocelyne Saab between 1973 and 1983, a period covering her reports on conflicts in the Middle East and the beginning of the Lebanese Civil War. It reproduces technical information, crew names, dialogue transcriptions, and selections of images from the films.
The book reflects the emergence of left-wing political movements, armed revolutions, and popular struggles in the Arab world during the 1970s and 1980s. It documents the militant and political film production of that era, while offering a methodology for approaching the production of film collections and Arab cinematic archives, making it an accessible source for researchers and filmmakers.
A Polyphonic Approach
Beyond the inventory, the book brings together contributions from several authors:
- Mohanad Yaqubi, editor and lead researcher, whose texts contextualize the emergence of political film production.
- Mathilde Rouxel, who brings her expertise on the filmmaker's work and the restoration process.
- Etel Adnan andRoger Assaf, Lebanese poet and playwright, whose texts accompanied Saab's films.
- Texts excerpted from Jocelyne Saab's own writing.
A Project Rooted in the Restoration Context
The book is closely linked to the restoration work undertaken by the Jocelyne Saab Association. It follows the inventory of film reels and soundtracks deposited by Saab at the CNC in the 1990s.
The project also gave rise to a film by Mohanad Yaqubi,Revolutionaries Never Die, winner of the Cairo Film Connection in 2025. In an interview withVariety, Yaqubi explains that he was deeply marked by a scene fromBeirut My City (1982), where Saab stands in front of her bombed house, and saw in it an echo of the destruction of his own family home in Gaza.
Press Coverage
- Interview with Mohanad Yaqubi,Variety, November 2025. The article discusses theRevolutionaries Never Die project and the inventory work carried out on Jocelyne Saab's archives, in connection with the publication of the book.
🔗 https://variety.com/2025/film/global/cairo-film-connection-mohanad-yakubi-jocelyne-saab-1236589141/ - Presentation of the "Revolutionaries Never Die" project, Doha Film Institute. The site presents Mohanad Yaqubi's film as a dialogue between Jocelyne Saab and the Palestinian archivist, through the catalogue and restoration of her films.
🔗 https://www.dohafilm.com/en/contents/e9bf87cc-c0c0-422d-995f-b65af78cd620
