The course of Elias Maalouf’s life changed in 2005, when he saw Syrian soldiers burning the archives of Lebanon’s railway system in an abandoned train wagon. He dashed to the wagon and thrust his hands into the fire to save whatever he could. It was the beginning of a life’s work. Maalouf had gone to the train station in his hometown of Riyaq to film for a documentary the Syrian military’s withdrawal from its 29-year occupation of Lebanon. Maalouf’s family had fled Riyaq for Ecuador during Lebanon’s civil war, which…
