Organized in collaboration with Al Mahabba Publishing House and De Voorkamer
20 February 2025, 17:00–21:00 / Casco HQ
Walk-in: 17:30 onwards. Dinner: 18:00. Screening: 19:30
Casco Art Institute: Working for the Commons is thrilled to welcome Al Mahabba Publishing House دار المحبة للنشر for the launch event of their collective on Thursday, 20 February.
Al Mahabba Publishing House is a newly formed collective and alternative publishing initiative founded by Den Haag-based Lebanese artists Jana Assaad and Milo Sharafeddine. The collective seeks to challenge publishing norms by treating every program, book, or artwork they create as a publication.
The launch of Al Mahabba Publishing House, titled Issue 00, is centered around We Are All For The Fatherland (1979), a film by leftist Lebanese director Maroun Bagdadi. Alongside the film screening, Al Mahabba Publishing House also presents an installation and their first zine inspired by We Are All For The Fatherland. It foregrounds the socio-political context of Jabal Aamel, the southern part of Lebanon.
This event is co-organized by De Voorkamer. Rawan Boustany’s dishes guide us through the evening. For this event, Rawan prepares a vegetarian Lebanese menu, with the main course being a lentil dish from Jabal Aamel.
We Are All For The Fatherland (1979): The Purpose Behind the Screening
The war on Lebanon began to intensify in the summer of 2024, but the country’s south has been under attack without a pause since the winter of 2023. Ever since, thousands of its residents have been displaced from their homes.
Jabal Aamel borders occupied Palestine. On 25 May 2000, the region was liberated from 15 years of Zionist occupation. It has thus a long history of struggle and a population that is steadfast in this struggle. However, international and national media have historically neglected covering the south’s news, focusing on the Beirut proper instead.
27 November 2024 marked the first day of the current ceasefire agreement. Despite this, Zionist forces continue to breach the agreement and continue to strike at and invade numerous villages in Jabal Aamel. This, again, is being overlooked by the media.
Al Mahabba Publishing House’s purpose behind screening We Are All For The Fatherland (1979) is to highlight the perseverance of daily life in the face of destruction in South Lebanon. كلّنا للوطن or We Are All For The Fatherland is made by leftist Lebanese director Maroun Bagdadi. It is a 75-minute documentary film featuring interviews with resistance fighters, religious leaders, and farmers juxtaposed against archival material and overlaid with a heartfelt score by iconic Lebanese musician Marcel Khalife. Even though the documentary was shot in the 70s, the political context it depicts remains disturbingly close to the present.
