General Security explains why “Beirut hotel” film was banned

In response to the report broadcasted on LBCI during yesterday’s night bulletin on the banning of the Lebanese film “Beirut Hotel”, the General Security – General Directorate explained that when Sabine Sidawi applied for permission to film the movie, she submitted a copy of the movie’s screenplay to obtain a filming license, she was asked to make some alterations as the film is centered on a “real crime,” the assassination of late former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.           

However, when Sabine did not do what she was asked to, the Information Ministry’s censorship committee took the decision to approve permission to show the film on the condition of adhering word by word to the screenplay on the basis of which the permission to film was granted.                

The movie discusses the Lebanese political life after Hariri’s assassination where Ali, a young man from Beirut’s suburb, establish a relationship with the daughter of the French Ambassador to Beirut providing her with drugs, as a mean to find his way out of Lebanon seeking refuge in France.