Beirut’s arthouse Metropolis Cinema has confirmed that the second edition of its South Screens festival will kick-off as scheduled this week.

The event, running May 28 to June 6, opens on Thursday with documentary And The Fish Fly Above Our Heads by Dima El-Horr, exploring the impact of conflict and economic crisis on Lebanon through the eyes of three men who have met on the same beach for years.

The film, which won the Zonta Award in the Burning Lights competition at France’s Vision du Réel festival in 2025, will be screened for the first time in Lebanon with El-Horr in attendance.

Spanish French director Oliver Laxe is also making the trip to Beirut to give a Master Class on June 3, moderated by Rabih El- Khoury, who is the Berlinale’s Arab film programmer and also a member of the Metropolis Cinema Association.  Laxe’s Oscar-nominated feature Sirāt will play in the festival.

“This edition features films from 15 countries and co-productions, bringing to the Lebanese audience, who loves cinema, the opportunity to discover films from diverse cultures that have gained international acclaim,” the Metropolis Cinema Association said in a release.

The confirmation of this year’s edition came as Israel intensified its bombardment of Eastern and Southern Lebanon in an escalation of its campaign against militant group Hezbollah, and reports that people were also fleeing Southern Beirut.

Metropolis Cinema’s current venue, which opened on December 2024, is situated in the city’s port area of Mar Mikhael in northern Beirut.

The festival will close with Cherien Dabis’ Oscar-short Listed All That’s Left Of You, with other titles in the mix including Iraqi Cannes Caméra d’Or winner The President’s Cake by Hassan Hadi and Saudi director Shahad Ameen’s Hijra.

The festival will also screen two classic films: Cannes 1975 Caméra d’Or winner The Years of Embers by late Algerian director Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, and 1957 Iraqi film Saïd Effendi by Kameran Hosni.