Lebanese filmmaker Lana Daher has crafted a haunting, poetic meditation on memory and resilience with her new archival essay film, Do You Love Me. Premiering in London earlier this year, the film weaves together over seven decades of Lebanese audiovisual material—from cinema and television to home videos and music—to paint a fragmented yet deeply human portrait of Beirut. Unlike traditional historical documentaries, Do You Love Me rejects linear storytelling in favor of an emotional landscape where joy, violence, and endurance coexist without resolution. It’s, as Daher describes it, a love letter to a city that has learned to live inside “unfinished time.”
Through its nonlinear structure, the film becomes a mirror for Lebanon’s collective memory, a country where contemporary history is rarely taught and where past traumas echo across generations. By avoiding narration or explanation, Do You Love Me allows Beirut’s voice to emerge through association, gesture, and repetition—inviting audiences to feel rather than analyze. The result is a cinematic experience that feels intimate yet universal, resonating with anyone who has grappled with the weight of history.
Daher’s approach is both radical and necessary. In a region where shared narratives are often suppressed or manipulated, Do You Love Me offers an alternative: a film that does not seek to reconstruct events but to reconstruct feeling. It asks what it means to remember in a place where crises recur without ever fully settling into the past. The film’s title itself—a question that lingers like a refrain—underscores its central inquiry: How do we love a city that refuses to let go of its wounds?
An Archival Masterpiece: How Do You Love Me Revives Lebanon’s Memory
Do You Love Me is composed entirely of found footage, a deliberate choice that reflects the film’s themes of fragmentation and resilience. Rather than relying on new material, Daher has sifted through decades of existing audiovisual archives—cinema, television broadcasts, personal photographs, and music—to assemble a mosaic of Beirut’s past. This method is not just aesthetic; it is political. By using pre-existing images, the film challenges the idea that history must be owned or controlled by institutions. Instead, it returns agency to the people, allowing Beirut to speak for itself.
The film’s nonlinear structure mirrors the city’s own disjointed timeline. Weddings are juxtaposed with bombed streets; seaside afternoons with televised air raids; moments of intimacy with scenes of rupture. There is no chronology, no hierarchy—only accumulation. This approach forces the audience to confront the coexistence of beauty and destruction, of celebration and mourning, in a single frame. It is a technique that feels both innovative and inevitable, as if the film itself is breathing with the rhythm of Beirut’s pulse.
One of the film’s most striking aspects is its refusal to provide easy answers. There is no resolution, no neat conclusion that ties up loose ends. Instead, Do You Love Me lingers in the unresolved, much like the city it portrays. This ambiguity is not a flaw but a feature, a deliberate choice to reflect the reality of life in Beirut, where the past and present are inextricably intertwined. The film does not seek to revive Lebanon in the traditional sense—bringing something back to life—but to revive its memory, to make it feel alive again through the power of association and emotion.
Why This Film Matters: Memory, Resilience, and the Power of Archival Cinema
Do You Love Me arrives at a moment when questions about collective memory and historical reckoning are more urgent than ever. Lebanon, like many nations, struggles with how to confront its past without repeating its mistakes. Traditional historical narratives often fail to capture the lived experience of ordinary people, reducing complex events to dry facts and political maneuvering. Dahers film flips this script by centering the emotional and sensory dimensions of history.
The film’s impact lies in its ability to make the abstract tangible. By focusing on the feeling of Beirut rather than its events, Do You Love Me creates a space for empathy. Audiences are not asked to pass judgment or adopt a particular political stance; instead, they are invited to witness the city’s contradictions and contradictions. This approach is particularly powerful in a region where historical narratives are often weaponized for political gain. Here, the film offers a counter-narrative—one that is personal, poetic, and profoundly human.
Critics and audiences alike have responded to the film’s emotional depth. Sarah Khalil, writing for New Arab, described it as a “meditation on what it means to remember in a country without a shared account of its recent past.” The film’s screening at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London earlier this year further cemented its place as a vital contribution to contemporary cinema. While details about its wider release remain limited, early reactions suggest that Do You Love Me is poised to become a landmark work in archival filmmaking.
Behind the Film: Lana Daher’s Vision and Process
Lana Daher is no stranger to using archival material to explore themes of memory and identity. Her previous work, including short films and installations, has often drawn on personal and collective histories to create layered narratives. For Do You Love Me, she spent years curating footage from private collections, national archives, and public broadcasts. The result is a film that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant.
Daher’s process was one of discovery as much as creation. She described the experience as akin to “listening to Beirut’s fractured memory,” allowing the city’s voice to emerge organically from the footage itself. This hands-off approach to editing—letting the images and sounds dictate the structure—was crucial to the film’s emotional impact. Notice no voiceovers, no explanatory text; the film speaks through its accumulation of images, sounds, and silences.
One of the film’s most innovative aspects is its use of music. Lebanese folk songs, protest anthems, and modern pop tracks are woven into the soundtrack, creating a sonic landscape that mirrors the film’s visual fragmentation. The music does not serve as a backdrop but as an active participant in the narrative, reinforcing the film’s themes of endurance and resilience. For example, a traditional Lebanese song might play over footage of a wedding, only to be abruptly interrupted by the sound of an explosion, forcing the audience to confront the coexistence of joy and trauma.
Where to Watch and What’s Next for Do You Love Me
As of May 2026, Do You Love Me has screened at select international film festivals, including the ICA in London and the Berlin International Film Festival. While a wider theatrical release has not yet been announced, the film’s growing reputation suggests it may soon find a broader audience. For now, interested viewers can keep an eye on official updates from the ICA or Lana Daher’s production company for release details.
In the meantime, the film’s influence is already being felt in the world of archival cinema. Directors and filmmakers are taking note of Dahers innovative approach, which blends personal storytelling with political commentary. Do You Love Me is not just a film about Beirut; it is a model for how cinema can engage with history in a way that is both intellectually rigorous and emotionally compelling.
Key Takeaways: What Do You Love Me Teaches Us About Memory and Film
- Archival cinema as emotional history: The film proves that history is not just about dates and events but about feelings, associations, and personal experiences.
- Nonlinear storytelling: By rejecting chronology, Do You Love Me forces audiences to engage with history on a deeper, more intuitive level.
- The power of silence: The film’s lack of narration or explanation allows the images and sounds to speak for themselves, creating a sense of immediacy and authenticity.
- Resilience through art: Beirut’s ability to endure is reflected in the film’s structure, which refuses to resolve its contradictions but instead embraces them.
- A call for empathy: The film challenges audiences to see history not as a series of facts but as a shared human experience.
For those interested in exploring the themes of Do You Love Me further, the film’s screening at the ICA in London serves as a starting point. Lana Daher’s previous works and interviews offer deeper insight into her creative process and artistic vision. As the film continues to gain traction, it is sure to spark important conversations about memory, resilience, and the role of cinema in preserving collective history.
What do you think about Do You Love Me? Does it offer a new way to understand history through film? Share your thoughts in the comments below or tag us on social media with #DoYouLoveMeFilm. For updates on future screenings and interviews with Lana Daher, stay tuned to World Today Journal.
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