"Taste of Cement": When Workers Build an Uncertain Future Amid the Ruins of the Past

The documentary "Taste of Cement", directed by Syrian filmmaker Ziad Kalthoum, takes us on a poignant visual journey into the lives of Syrian workers in Beirut. These workers are constructing towering skyscrapers in a foreign land while their own homes in Syria are being reduced to rubble by war. This harsh contrast highlights their painful reality: building a future with their own hands in exile while their roots are being destroyed back home.

The film captures the daily struggles of these workers, who live in a state of double isolation. A strict curfew confines them to construction sites after work hours, forcing them to spend their nights in the basements of unfinished buildings. Within these bare walls, they are haunted by news of the war and memories of their lost homeland, trapped between a stolen past and an uncertain future.

Visually, the film is striking, transforming concrete structures into artistic compositions that reflect the workers’ suppressed emotions and sense of displacement. Through slow, deliberate shots, the film adds a poetic dimension to their suffering. With its deeply emotional storytelling and powerful imagery, "Taste of Cement" stands as a compelling testimony to the plight of displaced workers, who endure immense pressures amid an unstable political reality.