Cedar Exodus is a research project and film exploring the endangered state of Lebanese cedar trees (Cedrus libani) and their complex ecological, cultural, and political histories. The project consists of the experimental film Where Can We Be Found? and two animated drawings, Trapped and Exploited, which reframe the cedar beyond its historical role as a symbol of eternity and national identity.  

Through a combination of documentary footage, 2D and 3D animation, and archival research, Cedar Exodus reveals the deep entanglement of the Lebanese cedar with human interventions—from ancient deforestation to modern climate disruptions and extractive tourism. While widely revered, the cedar’s reality is one of habitat loss, fragmentation, and political appropriation.  

Where Can We Be Found? offers both material and poetic explorations of the cedar’s contemporary crisis, tracing the forces that have shaped it and its landscape. Trapped examines the Lebanese cedar’s use as a symbol within present-day Lebanon’s political, religious, economic and social spheres amidst changes to the country’s climate and ecology. Exploited chronicles the centuries of extraction by various civilizations and colonial powers that have reduced the once-vast forests to isolated reserves.  

By questioning the ways in which the Lebanese cedar has been mythologized, instrumentalized, and commodified, Cedar Exodus seeks to restore the tree's agency as a living being rather than as an emblem or ideology. The project invites audiences to reconsider their relationship with the tree, shifting a narrative of ownership and exploitation to one of coexistence and care. 

Narration: Iyad Abou Gaida
Project management: Jumanah Abass, Iyad Abou Gaida
Cinematography & postproduction: Em Joseph
Drawings & animations: Jumanah Abass, Iyad Abou Gaida, Ronny Abou Ghaida
Animation consultant: Cristen Shea
Sound recording: Em Joseph, Eric Mundt
Voiceover tech: Eric Mundt
Written contributions: Rania Masri, Rola Khayyat
Original score: Frances Chang, Em Joseph
Translation: Jumanah Abass, Fawwaz Abughazaleh, Iyad Abou Gaida, Ahmed Zidan
Editing consultant: Phoebe Osborne
Copy editors: Laurel Atwell, Joanna Joseph, Lynsey Robertson
Stabilization: Romke Hoogwaerts
Colorist: Em Joseph
Font design: Stephen Decker
Sound mixing & mastering: Andrea Schiavelli, Dan Siegler 

Special thanks to: AFAC, Al Arz Restaurant, Georges Abi Sleiman, Hamad Al Muzaini, Razan Al Safadi, Neal Al Shatti, Marylynn Antaki, Jonathan Dagher, Khalid Al Tamimi, Magda Bou Dagher Kharrat, Mary Cheeseman, Matthew Cheeseman, Christina El Habr, Elias El Hage, Karina El Hage, G. Fayad, Bahaa Flayhan, Nizar Hani, Darine Hotait, Sebastijan Jemec, Janet Joseph, Jano Kordzaia, Christy Layous, Jouzour Loubnan, Danny Lowe, Kalei Coffee Co., Anthony Khoury, Susie Laba, Inkosi Luwe-Cheeseman, Tifwilenji Luwe-Cheeseman, Georgia McGovern, Paul in Hasroun, Giacomo Rossi, Bass Samaan, Rana Samara Jubayli, Hashim Sarkis, Najwa Syagha, Natalie Megrabyan, John Yazbek, Ian Wallace, Mark Wasiuta, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Axelle Zemouli 

This project was made possible with generous support from The Arab Fund for Art & Culture Fine Arts Grant (2020).