We Loved Each Other So Much

Directed by Jack Janssen

80 minutes / Color
English; Arabic / English subtitles
Release: 2004
Copyright: 2003

For half a century, the Lebanese singer Fairuz has been a living legend in the Arab world. Her home is Beirut, once a thriving seaport known as "the Paris of the Middle East," and a haven for those fleeing religious or ethnic persecution. In 1975, however, a civil war that was to rage for fifteen years disrupted this idyllic situation. Throughout the civil war Fairuz remained in Beirut, and everyone - whether Christian, Muslim, left-wing or right-wing, people from all the groups that were murdering each other - continued to love this singer with the nightingale voice.

WE LOVED EACH OTHER SO MUCH portrays the love of diverse Beirut inhabitants for this diva. Through the music, and the myths that grew around Fairuz, they tell their life stories, and narrate the tragic, stirring history of their city. Their reminiscences, combined with Fairuz' songs and her story, provide a moving commentary on Lebanon's tumultuous history, traces of which are still visible in Beirut's devastated cityscape and bullet-scared building.

Today Fairuz is a cultural phenomenon whose appeal has spread far beyond the Arab world. Offering viewers a revealing and captivating introduction to this singer, and her place in Lebanese history and culture, WE LOVED EACH OTHER SO MUCH also powerfully shows how music and the emotions it stirs can transcend political and religious differences.

"Offers many wonderful moments, both light and intense. Fairuz's songs seem to make the difficult situation of the Middle East easier for everyone."—Al Jadid: A Review & Record of Arab Culture and Arts

"Highly Recommended! Just as great writing does, all great filmmaking transcends its subject. WE LOVED EACH OTHER SO MUCH is supposed to be about the legendary Arab singer Fairuz, but is so much more. Intimate and poignant... documentary filmmaking at its finest."—Educational Media Reviews Online

Ways to Watch

Individuals

Home use DVD for $26.98

Available online from:

Colleges, Universities, Government Agencies, Hospitals, and Corporations

Purchase DVD for $298.00

Credits

Pieter Van Huystee
Jack Janssen

Select Accolades

  • 2004 Middle East Studies Association FilmFest
  • 2004 San Francisco Arab Film Festival
  • 2004 Vancouver International Film Festival

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