Dubai: Beirut After the Blast documentary premieres with special Metaverse screening

A unique metaverse screening of the documentary ‘Beirut After the Blast’ took place in Dubai at the Waldorf Astoria DIFC on September 1.

Directed by activist and witness of the blast Fahed Abu Salah, the 50-minute hard-hitting documentary film is an MContent production, the world’s first Watch2earn content ecosystem and pioneers of Web3 cinema.

Following the aftermath of the fatal explosion that ripped through Lebanon’s capital city, Beirut on August 4, 2020, the documentary provides insight into the blast’s repercussions two years on.

During the private screening, guests were treated to an intimate talk from Mahmoud Itani, spokesperson for NGO charity Plan. Lb and Salah shared behind-the-scene stories of the making of ‘Beirut After the Blast’.

The event was followed by an exclusive unveiling by MContent of 961 NFT artworks symbolic of Lebanon’s 961 area code, including contributions from leading NFT artists. Profits from sales of the NFTs will be donated to the Beirut community through Plan.Lb.

The event saw attendance from an esteemed guest list that included prominent members from the Lebanese community, film circles and celebrities, as well as renowned NFT artists and Web3 figures.

Following the screening, filmmaker Salah said: “When the explosion happened, I was in Beirut and knew as, with most news, the world watches for a few days and moves on.”

He said: “This documentary is my attempt to ensure the people of Beirut are not forgotten. If we all stand together, we will bring Lebanon, the Lebanese people and children back to where they deserve to be. I want to thank MContent for making this happen, and for giving me the opportunity to share this story with the Metaverse.”

Umair Masoom, founder and CEO of MContent, said: “One of the key strengths of a Web3 content company and streamer like MContent is our ability to pick up any story that our community wants to shed light on despite any power centre disliking the underlying narrative.”

“This premiere highlights the unique independence of our content, empowering filmmakers like Fahed with limited resources to create and widely distribute an incredibly important story that has been widely overlooked and ignored by the mainstream press, media and buyers,” said Phil McKenzie, the chief content officer at MContent.

The powerful blast that rocked Lebanon decimating a vast swath of the Lebanese capital was caused by a stockpile of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut causing over 200 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and an estimated 300,000 people to be without homes.

• Dubai
• MENA