The Guardian Just Ranked Labaki’s Capernaum Among the Best Films of the 21st Century

After receiving recognition and praise from all over the world, Nadine Labaki’s Capernaum ranked #71 among the Guardian’s list of the 100 Best Films of the 21st Century.

Although it was released a year ago, Capernaum is still grabbing the hearts and proving its outstanding worth wherever it lands. 

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Dear @oprah. I can’t thank you enough for your beautiful recognition! This film has been one of the most beautiful nurturing adventures of our lives ! It changed each and every one of us who were involved in it . It has been a difficult endeavor but such a rewarding one. I truly believe in the power of cinema and art to ignite discussions and change perspectives and I can see this happening slowly in the lives of all the children who were the heart and soul of this film . With the help of UNHCR and UNICEF and other beautiful organizations they are now off the streets and going to schools but it is a daily struggle and there is still so much to do. Like them there are thousands of children in unbearable circumstances. Your recognition is shedding more light on their situation . This film was meant to be their plea. Thanks to you they are less invisible today and their voices are resonating a little louder . I am forever grateful for your beautiful gesture ! Thank you for being who you are. #Repost @oprah with @get_repost ・・・ Can’t stop thinking about this movie. #Capernaum Saw it 3 days ago. Didn’t know when I watched it that the cast members were real people. Including these 2 phenomenal kids. Story of a young boy who sues his parents to stop having children they can’t afford. It’s about that and so much more. Surviving the daily traumas of being poor,proving your existence matters with no “papers.” Was nominated for Golden Globes. Hope the same happens for Oscars so more people can see it. Really worthy of your time. #Capernaum means chaos.

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Here’s the Guardian review of the film:

A sprawling drama that functions both as an excoriating treatise on the nature of poverty in Lebanon, and an idiosyncratic drama in which a child takes his parents to court for their ill-treatment of him.

We tend to think of the latter type of juvenile emancipation as the province of overprivileged westerners, but director Nadine Labaki makes it work in the toughest of social circumstances: a 12-year-old, living in the Beirut slums, takes steps to deal with his parents’ neglect. A highly original and affecting film.

This Lebanese movie portrays the life of young  Zain (Zain Al Rafeea), a 12-year-old Lebanese boy,  born in a poor family, and who lives in the slums of Beirut. 

The storyline focuses on Zain’s tough life and leads to his attempt to sues his parents Souad (Kawsar Al Haddad) and Selim (Fadi Yousef) for the “crime” of giving him life.

Capernaum has already won several prizes, including ‘The Audience Award’ and ‘Best Script’ in the Stockholm Film Festival, ‘Prix Du Jury’ in International Cannes Film Festival,  and ‘Meilleur Film Etranger’ in Les Globes De Cristal. 

Besides, Capernaum was the first Lebanese film to ever be nominated for a Golden Globe’s Foreign Language category. In addition to that, it was the second Lebanese film to ever be nominated for the Oscars’ Foreign Language category, following Ziad Doueiry’s The Insult.

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The Japanese poster ! @capharnaumthefilm

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Not so long ago, Capernaum was remarkably well-received by the Chinese public, becoming,  as per Daily Box Office – China, the second top-grossing film internationally of the weekend, right behind only Avengers: Endgame.

It scored over $25 million within its first week of screening and rated 8.7/10 on China’s movie review site Douban.

The Lebanese director Nadine Labaki never fails to impress us!

Recently, Labaki went back to acting as she stars in a new Lebanese film titled 1982, which won recently the Netpac Award at Toronto International Film Festival. 

Our warmest wishes of success and good luck for Nadine Labaki, wherever she goes and whatever she does!

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