« Voi(e)x de l’exil, formes de la pensée » : le cinéma-essai de Borhane Alaouié »

Abstract

This article offers a comprehensive study of Borhane Alaouié’s work, a central figure in modern Lebanese cinema, situating it within the tradition of the essay film. Through an analysis of Lettre d’un temps d’exil, À toi où que tu sois and Khallas, it examines how exile, wounded memory, and fragmentary thought shape the filmmaker’s aesthetic and ethical approach. Exile is explored not only as a geopolitical condition but as an interior state, a persistent uncertainty that structures voices, narratives and images. The study highlights the importance of voice-over, fragmentation, memory-driven editing and epistolary address, while positioning Alaouié’s work in dialogue with other Lebanese, Arab and international filmmakers. Special attention is given to the discreet yet foundational presence of Palestine as a shared memory and shadow motif. The article ultimately reveals a cinema where thinking, witnessing and resisting merge into a singular poetic and political gesture.