BEIRUT: Beirut’s culture of filmmaking and film consumption wants for many things, but one thing it’s not short of is film festivals. It would be tedious to list the litany of film and video art platforms that crop up around town over the course of the year.

All these events are held in the fall and winter, when the weather gets bad (by Lebanese standards), and thus indoors – a reflection of the truism that, when the weather is fine, Beirutis prefer to stay out than to go in.

Outdoor film projection is virtually unheard-of in Beirut. In the late 1990s, some folks opened a ‘50s-American-style drive-in movie theater, complete with adjacent burger joint and waiters to bring junk food to your car. The idea never took off, perhaps because, wedged between Riyad al-Solh Square and Jisr Fouad Shihab, the projection was refracted through a distracting amount of light pollution.

Since the drive-in closed, Beirut’s culture of outdoor film projection was becalmed. Then, three years ago, Laboratoire d’Art launched its “Cabriolet Film Festival,” on Gemmayzeh’s Saint Nicholas stairs.

The aims of the platform is to promote short film and, over three days, the event will screen short films from Lebanon, Europe and North Africa, all unified under the “public space” theme.

It was important for Laboratoire d’Art to launch this open-air event in a public space that “is not a commercial one like malls or galleries,” said owner Ibrahim Samaha.

Like the classic convertible automobile after which the festival takes its name, “Cabriolet” has no ceiling and no walls. People attending this event will be able to watch the films, in a natural setting. There will only be “a screen and a sound system,” Samaha said, this way “people will also be able to enjoy the scenery.”

The criteria for selecting the 61 short films for the program was a script that respects the theme of “public space.” “Cabriolet” has no awards at the end. The only prize of this festival, Samaha explained, is for the fact that the filmmaker’s work was chosen.

Nineteen of the program’s films are foreign works. These include the classic video art work “A Wednesday Night in Tokyo,” by Denmark’s Jan Verbeek, and the animated “Le Silence sous l’Ecorce,” by France’s Joanna Lurie.

These foreign films will screen alongside local works such as “Beirut Nightlife … Through the Eyes of a Boy” by Nigerian-Lebanese Michelle Odhiambo and “My Beirut” by Joseph Kai.

This is the first time Cabriolet will project nearly as many international filmmakers as local ones, Samaha said.

The “Cabriolet Film Festival” is distinct from other film festivals, he added, since it promotes good quality movies in a public space known to all Beirutis, with one objective: “Bring the cinema to everyone.”

The “Cabriolet Film Festival” will take place on Gemmayzeh’s Saint Nicholas Stairs, from May 27-29. For more information please call 01-322-744 / 03-932-360.