14 March 2019
Lebanese Film "Capharnaüm” Screened at Bahrain’s Cinemas In cooperation with the Lebanese Embassy and BACA
The Lebanese embassy in the kingdom of Bahrain, in cooperation with the Authority of Culture & Antiquities, Vox Cinema at the Avenues complex, screened in premiere, the Nadine Labaki’s Oscar-nominated film “Capharnaüm” on 12 March 2019. The most acclaimed film has gone on to earn an Oscar nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category and for Best Film Not in the English Language at the upcoming 2019 BAFTA Awards. The film, which has found a fan in Oprah Winfrey (she dubbed it “compelling”) was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 2019 Critics’ Choice Awards and 2019 Golden Globe Awards as well. In May, the film earned an epic 15-minute standing ovation following its premiere during the Cannes Film Festival.
“Capharnaüm” which is Arabic for "a disorderly accumulation of objects" - tells the story of a child who is struggling to survive and sues his family "for giving him life in the first place".Zain El Hajj, a 12-year-old from the slums of Beirut, is serving a five-year prison sentence in Roumieh Prison for stabbing someone who he refers to as a "son of a bitch". Neither Zain nor his parents know his exact date of birth as they never received an official birth certificate. Zain is brought before a court, having decided to take civil action against his parents, his mother Souad and his father Selim. When asked by the judge why he wants to sue his parents, Zain answers "Because I was born". Meanwhile, Lebanese authorities process a group of illegal migrant workers, including a young Ethiopian woman named Rahil. The story then flashes back several months to before Zain was arrested. Zain uses forged prescriptions to purchase tramadol pills from multiple pharmacies. Zain and his sister Sahar later crush the pills into a powder and soak them into clothes, which are sold to drug addicts. Zain also works as a delivery boy for Assad, the family's landlord and the owner of a local market. One morning, Zain discovers that Sahar has started her period and helps her to hide the evidence, believing that she will be married to Assad if her parents discover that she has become a woman.
Nadine Labaki’s movie is playing now at Bahraini cinemas.
