Born in 1985 to a Lebanese father and German mother, Pierre Jarawan works as a freelance author and photographer in Munich.
In 2016 Jarawan published “The Storyteller,” his first German-language novel. “It’s about an exiled family torn apart by a secret whose origins lie in the Lebanese Civil War,” he says. “There will be an English version available in early 2019 and that’s very exciting. I’m pleased that more people will be able to read it.”
It is clear that Jarawan has a strong connection to Lebanon. On a recent visit to the country, he made a video depicting its many layers. “If you think you have understood Lebanon, it was badly explained to you. It’s a saying but it is also what I feel whenever I come back,” he adds.
Although Jarawan captured some of Lebanon’s well-known tourist attractions and beauty spots in his film, he broke from the norm by including scenes of pollution and heavy construction in the capital. The result is an honest portrayal of Lebanon and its imperfections.
“As I have forgotten most of my Arabic, I often feel like a tourist in the country. Lebanon is like a strange but beautiful song that fills me with happiness and sadness at the same time – happiness because of its dreamlike melody and sadness because I don’t seem to remember the lyrics.”
Watch Pierre Jarawan’s video right here: