Through his videos, Lebanese Alexis Haddad traces the threads of his origins

Alexis Haddad has already posted several multi-episode video documentaries on Instagram about journeys that resonate with him and reflect his own experiences, including those of Simon Abkarian, Jean-Michel Karam, Alan Geaam and his parents. The pace is lively, built around archival photos and brought to life by the narrative voice of the dark-haired 30-something.The vignettes are addictive, skillfully paced and born of two sensibilities meeting amid uprooting and self-reinvention. The driving force behind them is the “emergency mode” of the Lebanese — and Armenian — diaspora, passed down from one generation to the next and often leading to spectacular success.Although Haddad was born and raised in Paris, he spent many summers in Lebanon, which he remembers fondly. “It was always a celebration; we’d go from cousin to cousin in a very warm...