Featured image for “Capernaum”
Shown: January 12, 2021 at 6pm

Director : Nadine Labaki

Country : Lebanon

Release Date : 2018

Duration : 126 mins

Language : Arabic and Amharic

Subtitles : Yes

SHORT-LISTED : BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM AT 2019 OSCARS

WINNER : JURY PRIZE AT 2018 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

Capernaum (meaning ‘chaos’ in Arabic) tells the story of Zain, a Lebanese boy who sues his parents for the ‘crime’ of giving him life. The film follows Zain as he journeys from gutsy, streetwise child to hardened 12-year-old ‘adult’ fleeing his negligent parents, surviving through his wits on the streets, where he meets Ethiopian migrant-worker Rahil, who provides him with shelter and food, as Zain takes care of her baby son Yonas in return. Zain later gets jailed for committing a violent crime, and finally seeks justice in a courtroom.

“Naturalism meets melodrama in this harrowing, hectic tale of a lost boy’s adventures in the slums and shantytowns of Beirut … Labaki refuses to lose sight of the exuberance, grit and humour that people hold onto even in moments of the greatest desperation.”  (A.O. Scott – The New York Times)


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