Philippe Aractingi (فيليب عرقتنجي) is a Lebanese author, director, producer, actor and photographer.^[1] Aractingi is Franco-Lebanese.

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2020) This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (January 2020) This article contains wording that promotes the subject in a subjective manner without imparting real information. (February 2024)

Self-taught, he has directed more than 70 documentaries in various formats and lengths, and 4 feature films, which have been widely distributed worldwide. He has gained widespread recognition as a film director in the EMEA region.

Two of his films, “Bosta” and “Under the Bombs” were the only Lebanese entries in the 2006 and 2009 Oscar ceremonies,^[2] respectively.

His other releases have been praised and awarded over 40 times at various international festivals, in Venice, Dubai, Thessaloniki, Rotterdam, and at the Sundance Film Festival, among other events in the film industry.

With his passion for the arts and dedication to defending the Lebanese Film Industry, Aractingi is also the co-founder of the Lebanese Cinema Foundation (FLC) and the vice-chairman of the Beirut Screen Institute committee.

In 2018, Aractingi was appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture.^[3]

Philippe Aractingi was born in Beirut. At the age of 8, his father gave him his first camera. From the age of 16, living on the demarcation line in the midst of the Lebanese war, he captured photographs of the war, that went on to be published in various international news publications.

Around that time, film was not yet a discipline taught in schools. However, Aractingi was not discouraged by this and decided to teach himself, despite the lack of audiovisual programs availabilities in a war-ridden country. At the age of 20, he filmed his first broadcast documentary, in his hometown, Beirut.

Recognizing his interest in the audiovisual world, Philippe moved to Paris in 1989, at the age of 25. There, he dedicated the following 12 years of his career to writing, directing, and occasionally producing and co-producing over 50 documentaries and short films, for renowned international TV channels such as The Discovery Channel, France Télé, Arte, NDR, Sky. He shot most of his works in various countries such as Egypt, France, Mongolia, Morocco, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia, among other locations.

Amongst his most notable documentaries are “Vol Libre au Liban” in 1991, that won the Best Short Film Award at the Saint-Hilary Film Festival; “Par le Regard des Mères” in 1992 that competed in the “Vision du reel”, Nyon Film Festival and “Beyrouth de Pierre et de Mémoire in 1992, that won the gold medal of Jeux de la Francophonie. In 1995, he also released “Le Rêve de l’Enfant Acrobate” which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Beirut Film Festival.

In 2005, after returning to Lebanon, Philippe Aractingi produced and directed his first feature film “Bosta”, a groundbreaking post-war Lebanese musical. The film was critically acclaimed and broke audience records in Lebanon with more than 140,000 box office admissions. 100% Produced and financed by Lebanese contributors, this playful and realistic musical broke the traditional depiction of war in films and went on to reconcile the Lebanese public with the cinema, opening the door to a new generation of Lebanese films.

The film received eight awards, including Best Screenplay at the Carthage Film Festival (JCC), the Golden Murex in Beirut in 2006, and the Best First Work Award at the Arab Film Festival in Rotterdam.

In 2006, when another war broke out in Lebanon, Philippe Aractingi felt compelled to bear witness and filmed his second movie, "Under the Bombs", which accompanies two professional actors throughout the turmoil, to later come face to face with real players who partook in the 2006 Lebanese-Israeli war.  The film narrates the tale of a woman's relentless quest to locate her sister and son amidst the war-torn landscape.

Released in 2008, “Under The Bombs” was distributed in 30 countries and selected in over 40 festivals, including Venice, BAFTA, Dubai and the Sundance Film Festival. It won 23 awards worldwide, including the Best Actress Award and the Golden Muhr at the International Film Festival. The Audience Award at the Dubai Film Festival (DIFF); the Best Music and the Jury's Choice at the Luchon Festival in 2008, the Netpac and Critic's Awards in Antalya in 2007 and the Fipresci Prize at the Bratislava International Film Festival.

Under the Bombs and Bosta were both selected to represent Lebanon at the Oscars in 2006 and 2009 respectively.

In 2014, Philippe Aractingi ventured into autobiography with “Heritages”, a revamped documentary with a hint of fiction that recounts the various exiles that he and his family had to go through over the past 4 generations, summing up to 100 years of history. Experimenting with a radical new film-making style, he interlaces directed scenes and archive images with video-filmed personal diaries, family photos and super 8 reels.

The film was nominated at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, and the FIPA, International Festival of Audio Visual Programs. It is currently a case study in more than 30 schools and universities around the world, including Boston University.

In 2017, Aractingi released “Listen”, a modern-day love story that defied the well-defined social norms. “Listen” tells the story of a sound engineer who meets and falls in love with a strong and free-spirited girl, who suddenly slips away in a coma. This story deals with the emancipation of women in the Middle East nowadays, and is as well a journey through sound and the importance of hearing.

When it aired for the first time at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), "Listen" moved and shocked audiences. PG 18 in Lebanon, the authorities prohibited its distribution in the rest of the Arab world, but the film still went on to win 8 international prizes, including the Best Sound, Best Picture and Best Director awards at the Lebanese Movie Awards (LMA), and represented Lebanon at the Golden Globes in 2017.

In 2018-19, Philippe returned to documentary filmmaking with "On the Footsteps of Christ", co-produced with the Maronite Foundation, a journey between fiction and documentary that retraces the journey of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon.

In 2019, he released "Thawra Soul", a short movie documenting the lebanese revolution, "Thawra", which first began in October 2019.

In 2023-24, he directed a documentary for Gedeon Programmes entitled "Liban, Les secrets du royaume de Byblos".

In 1989, Aractingi founded his own production company, Fantascope, which allowed him to direct his feature films in a country where cinema was almost non-existent.

To date, Fantascope Production has produced more than a hundred films broadcast on international TV channels such as the Discovery Channel, France 2, France 3, Arte, NDR, and BSkyB.

Additionally, Fantascope Production has produced a series of corporate films.

In 2023, Philippe made his foray into the world of theater with his debut production, "Sar Waet El Haki" (Let's talk, it's about time), written and performed by himself and directed by Lina Abyad.

In this autobiographical solo-show, Philippe Aractingi loses himself in thought for a moment, meditating on the path that has led him to make so many films, he who, in his youth, had difficulties to speak.

Intense quest of expression, this groundbreaking play seamlessly weaves together projected films on fragmented screens, audio narratives, music, and occasional dance to delve into the profound themes of language and identity.

• Ici Beyrouth : "Sar Wa’at el-Haki" au théâtre Monnot

From the age of 8, Philippe Aractingi got behind the camera. When the war broke out, he went out in the streets to capture the scenes. Horrified by what he saw, Aractingi decided to stop taking pictures for quite some time.

In 2010, he finally decided to get back behind the camera and developed a series for an exhibition in Paris, “Nuit sur Beyrouth”, displaying a wide array of shots of Beirut by night. Some of the shots also showed a patchwork of color where the city could be seen, fully lit up on one side but overcome by darkness on the other side, due to its infamously frequent power cuts.

His second exhibit, “Obsessions”, took place in Beirut in 2018 and depicted the city’s evolution over time. On one hand, you can clearly see the peaceful care-free days before the war, but, on the other hand, you can see how the city was ravaged and disfigured by the war and how today, it’s almost unrecognizable and lies bare for all to see.

The exhibition was accompanied by an installation called “Beirut Through Time”, a setup of three screens showing the city of Beirut from three different perspectives : each displaying video footages of the same places at different times and stages : life, death and afterlife – before, during and after the civil war. L’Orient-Le Jour : Philippe Aractingi et l’insoutenable fragilité de Beyrouth

In 2022, Philippe took part in a collective exhibition, "Hunna", celebrating women through Art. Aractingi roamed the streets of Dubai, Paris, Cannes and Beirut, armed with a disposable camera, to capture snapshots of women's legs, unknown, fleeting beauties.

https://icibeyrouth.com/culture/45026

• Bosta (2005)
• Under The Bombs (2008)
• Heritages (Documentary) (2014)
• Listen (2018)

• Fantascope Production : Fantascope
• IMDb : Philippe Aractingi
• AlloCine : Philippe Aractingi
• Youtube : Philippe Aractingi
• Instagram : Philippe Aractingi