SXU 2008-09 film series continues with “West Beirut”

Story set during Lebanese civil war is part of SXU’s “Film and the City” series

Chicago (Jan. 7, 2009) Saint Xavier University will screen the 1998 film “West Beirut” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 13 in SXU’s McGuire Hall, Warde Academic Center, 3700 W. 103rd St., Chicago.

The screening is free and open to the public and is the third in SXU’s 2008-09 film series, “Film and the City.”

Directed by Ziad Doueiri, “West Beirut” is one of the most noteworthy films to come out of Lebanon’s protracted and devastating civil war. The film is a coming-of-age story tracking the lives of two friends as they negotiate the partition of their city during the civil war.

At first, the war is a lark: school has closed, the violence is fascinating and getting from West to East is a game. As the violence escalates, the film segues from adventure to tragedy.

“West Beirut” is 105 minutes long. This year’s film series is partially supported by a grant for the Illinois Arts Council, Saint Xavier’s College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Art and Design.

For more information, please contact Film Series Director Alison Fraunhar, Ph.D., at fraunhar@sxu.edu or (773)298-3083.

-SXU-

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact: Rick Ducat
773-298-3325 or ducat@sxu.edu