The Soil and The Sea

Abstract

In Lebanon there are more than 100 untouched mass graves dating back from the Civil War, and thousands of families awaiting a missing relative or at least a bone to bury The Soil and the Sea unveils the violence lying beneath a garden, a school, a cafe, a hotel, and other unremarkable landscapes. As the camera interrogates these everyday spaces, voices fill them with erased stories. More than 30 years after the end of the war, families in Lebanon have been unable to find answers about the fate of their loved ones. However, the creation of a National Commission for the Disappeared in 2020 has injected new hope that these sites will be investigated and that remains will one day be returned to families awaiting a bone to bury. This documentary stands as the first record of these sites, threatened by neglect, real estate developments, and oblivion.