As Israel steps up air strikes in Lebanon , Beirut’s beloved Metropolis Cinema – championed by Lebanese filmmakers as an indie cinema beacon amid bombings, despair and dysfunction – has announced it is forging ahead with the second edition of its South Screens (Écrans du Sud) festival. “In times shaped by war, silence, and uncertainty, we gather once again around cinema; not to escape reality, but to face it together,” the fest – which will feature works by Oliver Laxe , Saeed Roustaee, Rungano