With spring in full bloom and the cultural calendar equally bursting in abundance, I’m itching to get outside this weekend. 

The only problem is figuring out how to be everywhere at once. Part of me is longing to be outdoors, basking in the sun and the scent of jasmine, but at the same time, I’m finding the season’s lineup of films and exhibitions just as alluring. 

With the help of the following articles, I’m plotting a weekend that includes a little bit of both. I hope you manage the same.

Four female Lebanese artists to watch 

Three female painters and one photographer are taking the art scene by storm this spring in Beirut. They are reimagining the Phoenician princess of Sour, fusing Lebanese and Japanese abstraction, painting nostalgic village life and capturing women at the all-too familiar crossroads — to stay or leave Lebanon?

Girls on film 

From canvas to screen, women are also taking the spotlight at the 8th Beirut Women Film Festival, which, this year, is bigger and more encompassing than ever. Rana Najjar sat down with founder and director Sam Lahoud to understand how the event advocates for a film world committed to women.

This year’s event has also brought none other than Egyptian-Tunisian actress Hend Sabri, this year’s festival honoree, to town. Karl Richa caught up with the icon between screenings, red carpets and her departure from her position as U.N. ambassador. 

Who needs a euro-summer when you have euro-film-spring 

If the festival has opened the floodgates of your cinematic appetite, you’re in luck. The European Film Festival is also kicking off this week at Beirut’s Metropolis Cinema. We’ve got more info on the event and our top picks for your movie marathon.

For the bookworms of Beirut

It really is the season of cultural festivals! Last weekend, Yara Malka captured the literary bliss of her spring morning spent wandering around this year’s Souk al-Kotob festival, guiding us through the stalls of eclectic wares infused with the smell of ground coffee and freshly printed pages.

A Thousand and One Nights like you’ve never seen before 

To finish with a bang, the Caracalla Dance Theatre returns this month with a high-octane take on ‘One Thousand and One Nights,’ where classical choreography meets dabkeh, vivid silks billow on stage and the folkloric spirit of Baalbeck is brought back to life in dramatic color.