Carol Mansour is a Lebanese documentary filmmaker and producer whose recent projects have focused on the current pandemic and the ensuing isolation. In A COVID Diary , Mansour drives around...
Carol Mansour is a Lebanese documentary filmmaker and producer whose recent projects have focused on the current pandemic and the ensuing isolation. In A COVID Diary, Mansour drives around Beirut and while certain quarters are riddled with destruction, others are filled with a quiet peacefulness. The madness of traffic has dissipated, people jog leisurely in the streets and her regular interactions with shopkeepers are marked by affable solidarity. Reflecting on the complex nature of life under quarantine, the filmmaker remarks that what she is most afraid of is that life will return to the way it was before the pandemic and mankind will have learned nothing at all. Mansour, whose father died from COVID-19, creates a personal and collective diary of quarantine, rife with moments of self-discovery, joy, and grief.
Mansour is the founder of Forward Film Production based in Beirut. She has over 20 years of documentary film production experience and has traveled widely covering issues of human rights, social justice, refugees, mental health, and war and memory. She has won numerous awards for her films, including Best Short International Documentary for her film on the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon, A Summer Not To Forget, at the New Zealand Festival. Before launching her production company, Mansour directed, produced, and hosted numerous programs for Future Television in Beirut.