Also showing Oct 29 in-theater, and virtually all day Oct 30-Nov 1
Lebanon’s submission to the 2023 Academy Awards.
Soraya (Nadine Labaki) and Walid (Saleh Bakri) put their political activism in the rear-view mirror a long time ago. They escaped the insalubrious air of Beirut for a green mountainside where they can farm and raise their daughters in quiet harmony. After years of inhabiting this little piece of paradise unperturbed, they awake one morning to the rumble of earth movers. A new government project to establish a landfill on the neighboring property pierces their idyllic bubble. This intrusion from the outside puts a strain on the family dynamics as parents remember the past, children yearn for the future, and the very notion of escape is thrown into question. In this subversive debut feature, director Mounia Akl peppers the emotional and political truths of her film with elegant touches of magical realism. The seeming ease by which Akl blends these elements suggests not just an emerging talent, but a filmmaker already in full command of her art. ~TW
*** You may watch a conversation with the director and the two main characters HERE