The Day of Wrath: Tales from Tripoli

Forum 2026

The history of a city, its wars and uprisings. Taking the student protests that ushered in independence from France in 1943 as a starting point, Rania Rafei traces the back and forth between upheaval and consistency, discord and unity in Tripoli, Lebanon’s second-biggest city. Connecting the personal and the political as well as the intimate and the collective, the film gives the city and its inhabitants a stage across different eras and generations, employing an open form that combines a cinematic letter to her dead father, family stories, archive material and the exploration of a present in which history has been forgotten. Listening, voiceover: ordered chronologically, kaleidoscopic in its effect. The hopes surrounding the Pan-Arabism of the 1960s and defeat in the Six-Day War are followed by days of fury – in the factions that formed during and after the civil war, and the protests since 2019 against the catastrophic economic situation, omnipresent corruption and the sectarian system. A film as an act of political tenderness between confidence and disillusionment, wrangling and confession. The desire for change is strong.

by Rania Rafei (Director, Screenplay) Lebanon / Saudi Arabia / Qatar 2026 Arabic 120' Colour World premiere | Documentary form

Crew

Director	Rania Rafei
Screenplay	Rania Rafei
Cinematography	Jocelyne Abi Gebrayel
Editing	Rania Rafei
Music	Fadi Tabbal
Sound Design	Rania Rafei
Producer	Jinane Dagher
Executive Producer	Jinane Dagher

Produced by

Orjouane Productions

Beirut, Lebanon

Photos

Rania Rafei

Rania Rafei is a Lebanese filmmaker whose work engages with social and political themes. She has directed numerous television documentaries exploring contemporary issues in Lebanon, the Arab region, and internationally. Her debut feature film, 74: The Reconstitution of a Struggle, premiered at the FIDMarseille International Film Festival in 2011 and was screened at festivals worldwide. Her second feature documentary, The Day of Wrath: Tales from Tripoli, explores the political history and identity of her hometown.

Filmography

2010 Notes on Love in Copenhagen; short documentary 2011 Prologue; short documentary, co-directed by Raed Rafei 2012 74: The Reconstitution of a Struggle; documentary, co-directed by Raed Rafei 2014 Citi(es) of Beirut: purgatory of anticipated ruins; video installation, co-directed by Jinane Dagher 2026 The Day of Wrath: Tales from Tripoli; documentary

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026