Honoring ACTRESS HEND SABRI
The Woman Who Walked Between Worlds
BEHIND THE POSTER
“The Woman Who Walked Between Worlds”:
In the heart of Beirut, where history whispers through the balconies and the sea breeze carries echoes of forgotten voices, stood a woman—Zainab Fawwaz, a pioneering Lebanese writer, feminist, and intellectual who defied societal norms in the late 19th century. She stands at the heart of the composition, embodying the essence of leadership, empowerment, and the enduring strength of women in social change. She was neither of the past nor the present; she walked between worlds, bridging time with her power.
Born in an era that sought to silence her, Zainab refused to be confined. She carved her path writing against injustice, demanding a space for women. But her journey was not without wounds. Within the silhouette of Zainab Fawwaz, subtle yet powerful symbolic wounds near the heart suggest a process of healing—both personal and collective. This embodies the festival’s mission: to highlight women’s stories of pain, resilience, and triumph, while fostering conversations that mend wounds and pave the way for a more inclusive future. Every word she wrote left a scar—some seen, some hidden beneath the surface, near her heart. Yet, like the land she came from, she healed.
One day, as she wandered through the changing landscapes of Lebanon, she found herself between two realms. To her left, the modern city stretched high into the sky, balconies filled with stories of women standing, waiting, watching. To her right, nature bloomed in defiance, a path of flowers leading into the unknown, as if inviting her to step forward.
She reached out and plucked a Cyclamen flower, the delicate yet unbreakable symbol of her homeland. It fit perfectly between her fingers—a reminder of resilience, of how even the smallest bloom could thrive in the harshest terrain.
A gust of wind carried whispers from the past, voices of women like her, who had fought, loved, lost, and risen again. Zainab listened. She turned toward the horizon, painted in shades of dusk and dawn, knowing that change was not a single moment, but a journey.
She gave a firm look.
And she walked forward.
Because the road to leadership is never given—it is taken, step by step, by those who dare to rebuild, to reclaim, to dream beyond the ruins of yesterday.
#BWFF2025
#WomenForLeadership
MEET THE ARTIST BEHIND THE POSTER
Najwa Mallah, Head of Branding and Design
Najwa Mallah is a Beirut based Art Director, she holds a BA in Multimedia and an MA in Design.
Najwa has built a diverse career through small and large-scale projects across various
industries. Najwa draws inspiration from everyday life to craft innovative ideas that resonate with audiences. Whether working with teams or independently, Najwa is always on the lookout for new ways to push the boundaries of design while maintaining a focus on quality and client vision.
Najwa is the Head of Branding and Design at Beirut Film Society; among her work is the Beirut Shorts International Film Festival and the Beirut International Women Film Festival. and others.
ORGANIZED BY
BEIRUT FILM SOCIETY
Beirut Film Society is a Non-for Profit Lebanese organization situated in Beirut, working since 2007 on promoting for “responsible filmmaking”.
Beirut Film Society works on introducing cinema culture as an educative tool to human rights and ethics; and on spreading the Lebanese culture though cinema when and where possible.
Our mission comprises improving the filmmaking industry, empowering and supporting talents and creativity, reinforcing the concept of “responsible filmmaking”, and above all staying committed to its social responsibility in Lebanon and the Arab world, and far beyond.
BFS aims to shape the future of the film industry, by presenting Lebanon as a diverse filming location, and by providing data about film personnel, and other needed filming logistics, to the international companies and filmmakers in order to help them produce high quality audiovisual and film content.
GIRLS FOR CHANGE
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Girls For Change
GIRLS FOR CHANGE program continues to be an initiative created and developed by Beirut Film Society to train Lebanese and Syrian girls between 13 and 18 years old living in the most vulnerable areas in Lebanon on how to use Audio Visual and Film to seek
change and to express themselves.
The training program, covered so far most Lebanese regions, with more than 500 beneficiaries resulting the production of more than 30 short films written and directed by the girls under the supervision of BFS team of trainers.
In this program, Beirut International Women Film Festival & Beirut International Children and Family Film Festival are committed to social issues and aim to contribute to the SDG's 4 and 5, Quality Education and Gender Equality.
NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR
In a region once again shaken by war, displacement, and injustice, and in a Lebanon still searching for stability, dignity, and direction, we gather—not to escape reality, but to confront it through the lens of courage, truth, and art.
Welcome to the Beirut International Women Film Festival 2025.
This year, we walk with “The Woman Who Walked Between Worlds.”
Inspired by the pioneering Lebanese writer and feminist Zainab Fawwaz, this year's theme—Women for Leadership—invites us to reflect on what it means to lead, to heal, and to build in times of collapse.
Zainab walked at the edge of eras, caught between the weight of tradition and the urgency of progress. Much like the women of today—across Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Ukraine, and beyond—who continue to stand between grief and resilience, resistance and renewal.
The wounds are real. The stories are not easy. In Lebanon, we have lived through layers of trauma—economic collapse, political paralysis, violence, and mass displacement. In 2024 and 2025, as the region bled, so did our spirit. And yet, here we are. Still creating. Still dreaming. Still fighting to reclaim the narrative.
This festival is not just a celebration. It is a commitment. A space where pain is transformed into poetry, silence into testimony, and struggle into leadership. Every film, every voice, every woman represented here carries within her the seed of change.
We do not gather in denial of the dark.
We gather because we believe in the light.
We believe that leadership is not power over others—but power with others. It is not inherited—it is earned, claimed, and walked into, step by step, even across broken ground.
To the women who persist, who rebuild homes and movements, who write, who lead, who listen—we see you. This is your festival.
To the men who stand beside them, who uplift, support, and make space—we thank you. You are part of the future we are building.
And to the policymakers, institutions, and leaders watching:
Change will not wait for permission.
It demands action. Now.
End discriminatory laws. Enforce equity in pay and opportunity. Invest in inclusive policies. Rebuild with the people—not above them.
As Zainab once walked between two worlds, we too are crossing thresholds. From despair to hope. From silence to story. From inequality to leadership.
So let us rise, not in spite of what we've lived—but because of it.
Welcome to BWFF 2025.
Let this be a beginning—not only of a festival, but of a movement.
Sam Lahoud
Founder, President – Beirut Film Society
Founder, Director – Beirut International Women Film Festival