On 28 August 2013, director and filmmaker Lucien Bourjeily was summoned to the Lebanese Censorship Bureau and told that his play, ‘Will It Pass or Not?’, could not go ahead. The play, which tackles the theme of censorship head on, poses the difficult question that any Lebanese artist who explores controversial or sensitive issues …

Newsletter from Article 19, published on article19.org on 14 November 2013: Art, in any form, constitutes a key medium through which information and ideas are imparted and received. Artist Alert, launched by ARTICLE 19 in 2008, highlights cases of artists around the world whose right to freedom of expression has …

Newsletter from Article 19, published on article19.org on 21 October 2013: Art, in any form, constitutes a key medium through which information and ideas are imparted and received. Artist Alert, launched by ARTICLE 19 in 2008, highlights cases of artists around the world whose right to freedom of expression has …

The administration of the Beirut International Film Festival announced in a press release that Lebanon’s film censorship board has denied permission to screen the Lebanese short ‘Wahibatouka al-Moutaa’ (I Offered You Pleasure) and the French feature ‘L’Inconnu du Lac’ (Stranger by the Lake). The Daily Star – 3 October 2013: …

British comedian and actor Russell Brand had been booked to perform in United Arab Emirates and Lebanon on his ‘Messiah Complex’ world tour, but those gigs have now been cancelled because of threats from religious groups. “I was told that if I went there there would be problems,” Russell Brand …

Lebanese authorities have banned the award-winning film ‘The Attack’ from cinemas in the country because it was partly shot in Tel Aviv using Israeli actors. “I regret to inform you that the Interior Minister of Lebanon, Minister (Marwan) Charbel, has decided to punish us and the film by banning it… …

All three of Lebanese director Danielle Arbid’s films have been banned in her native Lebanon. She has initiated a legal case against censorship and the Lebanese state – the first trial of its kind. “This is in motion. If we win, this will help other directors and artists to be …

Tarek Joseph Chemaly, a Lebanese artist and university lecturer, published a personal comment about censorship of the arts in Lebanon. And according to Giedre Steikunaite, a freelance writer currently based in London, wrote an article about censorship in Lebanon for New Internationalist. Creative acts of resistance are springing up in …

A new Lebanese web-series, ‘MAMNOU3’, was launched on 1 July 2012. The series is a mockumentary account of what goes down in one of Lebanon’s most infamous administrative departments, the General Security’s censorship bureau. “At first sight it does seem that Lebanon has enjoyed wider freedoms than the rest of …

This was reported by al-Akhbar newspaper on 24 April 2012. Edmond Haddad, known for his role on al-Jadeed television’s Chi.N.N. comedy show, and Rawiya al-Shab, who is a theatre and film actress, were detained for a stand-up show they presented in 2009 at a pub in Gemmayzeh. A local media …