USEK Kaslik Campus | Zahle RUC
November 2022 – April 2023
This project is funded by the Public Affairs Section at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.
Project Overview
In a bid to foster civic engagement and inclusiveness, USEK will be holding a series of monthly symposiums on the movies of renowned American director Frank Capra. The themes of the selected movies focus on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, the importance of good governance, and the need to fight political and financial corruption.
The project’s aim is to exhibit and familiarize Lebanese citizens with one of America’s most treasured filmmakers, promoting hence the universal values that Capra endorsed and disseminated through media and cinema.
Each movie was screened both at USEK’s Kaslik Campus and Zahle RUC between November 2022 and April 2023.
Who is Frank Capra?
The creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s and 1940s, Frank Capra (1897 – 1991) is an Italian-born American film director, producer, and writer.
As one of America’s most influential directors during the 1930s, winning 3 Academy Awards for Best Director along with 3 other Oscar wins, Capra personified the American Dream throughout his works, both on and off the silver screen.
Treasured immensely in Hollywood, Capra stood as an icon to the general public. Along being the highest-paid director in the industry, he was also the only one whose name feathered above a film’s title. Seeking not to only entertain, he sought to inspire his fellow citizens by reaffirming beliefs in long-cherished American values.
Eight decades later, Capra’s movies are now considered enduring masterpieces that stood the test of time.
Frank Capra's American Dream, 1997, 1h55m |
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A documentary on the life and career of Frank Capra, including
interviews with the director’s friends, colleagues, and admirers.
Kaslik Campus
November 17, 2022 | 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Zahle RUC
November 24, 2022 | 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
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It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946, 2h10m |
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A desperate businessman who has given up on his personal dreams is
helped by his guardian angel to show him what life would have been like
if he had never existed.
Kaslik Campus
December 1, 2022 | 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Zahle RUC
November 30, 2022 | 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. |
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Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, 1934, 1h56m |
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A poet from a small town in Vermont heads to New York upon inheriting a
massive fortune and is immediately chased by those who wish to take
advantage of him.
Kaslik Campus
February 3, 2023 | 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
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State of the Union, 1948, 2h04m |
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An industrialist is urged to run for president;he is asked for uncomfortable compromises on both political and marital levels.
Kaslik Campus
February 24, 2023 | 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
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Meet John Doe, 1941, 2h02m |
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A social movement begins as a penniless drifter is recruited by an
ambitious columnist to impersonate a non-existent person who said he
would commit suicide as a protest.
Kaslik Campus
March 10, 2023 | 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Zahle RUC
March 16, 2023 | 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. |
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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, 1939, 2h09m |
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A naive youth leader is appointed to fill a vacancy in the US Senate.
His idealistic plans promptly collide with corruption at home and
deception from his hero in Washington.
Kaslik Campus
April 4, 2023 | 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Zahle RUC
April 3, 2023 | 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. |
Each movie screening will be followed by a discussion.
Free entrance and refreshments