Van Number 4 became a socio-cultural phenomena in Beirut, cheap and fast transportation for students, doctors and shoeshiners. A city portrait along No 4’s route – through noisy hamra, busy basta al tahta, artificial bird sounds in downtown and real bird’s twittering in Horsh Beirut. Listen to the radio portrait here.
Jackhammer and cement, cranes and concrete slabs: in Beirut, skyscrapers are rising, obstructing the Mediterranean view. Land ist privatized, laws attract profit-seeking investors; rents are rising, living becomes unaffordable. A fisherman, a professor, an activist and real estate developer about their fight for the right to the city – a fight for public spaces, affordable housing and access to the sea.
Old men telling myths and stories in cafés – that has been once upon a time: The tradition of the hakawati, storytellers, died out. In Lebanon it revives, with new topics, stories and female storytellers.
Leila Hassan’s life and sound is a collage. Her father is Egyptian, her mother German-Czech; her sound is a mixtape of Language and Tones. Julia Neumann met her underneath rustling leaves and the blowing wind in Berlin, where she lives.