Capernaum

+Opening Night Film
+Special Advanced Screening
+Lebanon

Thursday, 9/27
7:00 p.m.

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CAPERNAUM كفرناحوم

Co-presented with the Film Society of Minneapolis Saint Paul

Nadine Labaki
narrative
131 mins / 2018
Lebanon / US
Arabic with English subtitles
Special Advance Screening

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Nadine Labaki’s Capernaum tells the story of Zain (Zain al Raffea), 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 twelve-year-old “adult,” fleeing his abusive parents, surviving through his wits, and taking care of Ethiopian refugee Rahil (Yordanos Shiferaw) and her baby son Yonas (Boluwatife Treasure Bankole). Made with a cast of non-professionals playing characters whose lives closely parallel their own, Labaki placed her performers in familiar scenes and asked them to react spontaneously with their own words and gestures. Steeped in the quiet routines of ordinary people, Capernaum has an expansive palette that is presented with emotional intensity, unexpected tenderness, and poetic imagery.

Content warning: This film contains violence against children and adults.

Festivals and Awards:
Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival, France, 2018
Audience Award for Best Feature Film, Sarajevo International Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2018
Toronto International Film Festival, Canada, 2018

Nadine Labaki was born and raised in Lebanon during the civil war. After graduating with a degree in audiovisual studies, she began directing commercials and music videos for popular artists in the region. She directed and performed in her first feature Caramel (2005). The film premiered at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight in 2007 and garnered awards at the San Sebastian Film Festival. Caramel was released theatrically in over 60 countries.