"True to its title, Hady Zaccak's 'Shi'a Echoes from Lebanon' sets out to capture the shades of political opinion held by Lebanese Shiites."To do this, the director profiles three young people who have 'Shiite' stamped in their Lebanese identity papers. This minimum requirement is necessary. Lebanon's political system may subordinate the rights of its citizens to the privileges of its religious communities (their leadership, that is), but many Lebanese prefer to see themselves as individuals.
"Marwan Hamdan is an aspiring filmmaker and a member of Lebanon's Democratic Left Movement (the only secular leftist organization in the governing 14 March coalition).
"Fuad Kreiss supports the Amal Movement of Speaker Nabih Berri.
"Israa Aoudeh follows Hizbullah.
"By way of background, Zaccak introduces us to his informants' parents. Hamdan's father joined the Lebanese Communist Party (LCP) in 1974 and was an LCP official in the southern suburb of Haret Hreik throughout the Civil War. Kreiss' father says he went into business because he despises politics.
"The heavily veiled Aoudeh says her parents were religious but did not force her to take the hijab. 'I have a biological father who raised me," she says, ' but I also have a political father in Hassan Nasrallah ... and my spiritual guide is [Iranian supreme leader] Ali Khamenei.' [...]"
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon), September 28, 2007
