Nadine Labaki

Nadine Labaki is one of the most acclaimed Arab filmmakers of her generation, known for tearing down stereotypes and touching on fundamental issues like religion and the role of women in society in humorous and poetic ways. She obtained a degree in audiovisual studies at Saint Joseph University in Beirut; her graduation film, 11 Rue Pasteur (1997), won the Best Short Film Award at the Biennale of Arab Cinema in Paris. In 2007 her first feature film, Caramel, comedy about the everyday lives of five Lebanese women, premiered at Cannes. In 2008 the French Ministry of Culture gave Nadine Labaki the insignia of Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters. Her second feature film Where Do We Go Now? (2011), about a village in which church and mosque stand side by side, where women try to keep their blowhard men from starting a religious war, also premiered at Cannes and won several international awards. Her 2018 film Capernaum, about a 12-year-old Syrian refugee living in the slums of Beirut, was selected for the Palme d’Or, won the Jury Prize at Cannes and was nominated for an Oscar for the best foreign language film.