CHILDREN'S BEIRUT introduces Steve Antar, a 13 year old Beirut resident who has never known his city in peacetime.

Steve leads us through his hometown while nonchalantly demonstrating the realities of a child's life in Beirut - the scar left on his face by an exploding rocket when he was one, the sandbagged walls which are Beirut's urban landscape, the bomb shelter where he points to areas reserved for neighboring families, as if they were there. In a particularly revealing scene, Steve is embarrassed when his uncle asks about his girlfriend, but speaks matter-of-factly when they discuss guns.

In spite of the religious violence, Steve, a Christian, considers Ahmed el Delbani, a Moslem, his best friend. In fact, according to Steve, "If it wasn't for the shelling, Lebanon would be the finest country in the world."