Up To The South

Up to the South is a documentary about South Lebanon and explores current conditions, the issues behind the conditions and their representation both in the West and in Lebanon itself. Two other concerns are also tackled. One being the terms (and positions) involved in the discourse surrounding the issues, i.e. terrorism, colonialism, occupation, resistance, collaboration, experts, spokespeople, leadership and the land. The other is the history and structure of the documentary genre specifically with regard to the representation of other cultures by the West. The Lebanese voice is heard in the Western mind only in the form of extremism. This voice is a creation of Western self-interest and miscomprehension. In this misleading form, it enters the West’s media currency and takes its place in a well equipped store of delusions.