After being the first Lebanese movie to ever be nominated for the Golden Globe’s Foreign Language category, ‘Capernaum’ made it to the Academy Award’s nominees.
Nadine Labaki’s masterpiece had been shortlisted for the Oscars in December 2018 and is now officially nominated for the Foreign Language category.
Labaki described the announcement as “a moment we will never forget” in a post on the movie’s official Instagram account.
Capernaum will be competing against four other movies:
- Pawel Pawlikowski’s ‘Cold War’ from Poland.
- Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s ‘Never Look Away’ from Germany.
- Hirokazu Koreeda’s ‘Shoplifters’ from Japan.
- Alfonso Cuaron’s ‘Roma’ from Mexico (winner of the Foreign Language category of the Golden Globe Ceremony Awards).
The great announcement came after famous American TV host Oprah Winfrey declared her respect and appreciation for the movie.
Oscars: 'Capernaum' Lands Lebanon Back-to-Back Foreign-Language Nominations https://t.co/b81okMwwpA pic.twitter.com/zf5ZOv4V3J
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 22, 2019
Ever since the nomination, social media platforms have been buzzing with expressions of joy towards what Capernaum had already reached.
This Lebanese movie is a real emotional rollercoaster that portrays the life of young Zain (Zain Al Rafeea), a Lebanese boy who sues his parents Souad (Kawsar Al Haddad) and Selim (Fadi Yousef) for the “crime” of giving him life.
It’s happened! #Capernaum has officially been nominated for an #Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. This means the film’s superbly talented director, @NadineLabaki, has become the 1st Lebanese and Arab female director to get this recognition from the academy. #OscarNominations pic.twitter.com/hyq0iyc475
— Zahra Hankir (@ZahraHankir) January 22, 2019
It is important to note that this is the second Lebanese movie ever to be nominated for the Oscars after last year’s nomination of ‘The Insult’, a film by Ziad Doueiry.
Our warmest wishes of good luck go to Nadine Labaki and her team who once again proved to us what Lebanese will is able to achieve.