Nadine Labaki

Nadine Labaki is a Lebanese filmmaker and actress whose films include Caramel, Where Do We Go Now?, and Capernaum. Her work often centers women, children, and social life in Lebanon.

Caramel: A 2007 Lebanese comedy-drama directed by Nadine Labaki, set around women who work at a Beirut beauty salon. This debut feature established her intimate, women-centered approach to Beirut life.
Nonprofessional Actors: Performers without formal acting careers who appear in films, sometimes alongside professional actors. Labaki cast nonprofessional performers in Capernaum to bring lived experience into its social drama.
Ziad Rahbani: A Lebanese composer, playwright, and political commentator known for musical and theatrical work. His music features in Caramel and links the film to Lebanese popular culture.
Academy Award for Best International Feature Film: An annual Academy Award honoring a feature film produced outside the United States with predominantly non-English dialogue. Capernaum received Lebanon’s nomination and reached the award’s final five in 2019.
Where Do We Go Now?: A 2011 Lebanese comedy-drama directed by Nadine Labaki about women trying to prevent religious conflict in their village. It turns sectarian tension into a darkly comic story of community and resistance.
Location Shooting: Filming scenes in the real places where their stories are set rather than on constructed studio sets. Real Lebanese settings give her stories a close connection to everyday urban life.
Khaled Mouzanar: A Lebanese composer and music producer who has composed scores for films by Nadine Labaki. His scores shape the emotional atmosphere of several of her films.
Cannes Film Festival: An annual international film festival held in Cannes, France, featuring premieres and competitive awards. Capernaum won the Jury Prize in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section in 2018.
Capernaum: A 2018 Lebanese drama directed by Nadine Labaki about a boy who sues his parents for bringing him into a life of hardship. Its child-centered social realism marked a shift from her earlier comic ensemble films.
Improvisation: Creating or adapting dialogue and action during performance rather than following a fully fixed script. Improvised elements helped Labaki elicit natural exchanges from performers in Capernaum.

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Arab cinemaRelated: Her work brings contemporary Lebanese social life to international audiences.