TIAFF: Taste of Cement

In Beirut, Syrian construction workers build a skyscraper while their own homes are being bombed. The war in Lebanon is over, but in Syria it continues unabated. The Lebanese government has imposed a curfew on refugees. The workers are confined to the construction site and are not allowed to leave after 7 p.m.

Their only contact with the outside world comes through a small television, where they watch the news from Syria in the dark, and through the hole they climb out of each morning to begin another workday. Their fundamental human and labour rights have been stripped away; tormented by fear and uncertainty, they continue to hope for a better life. Taste of Cement is a powerful essay on life in exile in a world torn apart by war. Poetic imagery reveals a raw, bold and deeply impressive cinematic work.