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Dir. Oualid Mouaness - 2022 - 100m - Lebanon, Norway, France and Qatar - In Arabic with English Subtitles

A life-affirming coming-of-age tale set at an idyllic school in Lebanon’s mountains on the eve of a looming invasion. It unfolds over a single day and follows an 11-year-old boy’s relentless quest to profess his love to a girl in his class. As the invasion encroaches on Beirut, it upends the day, threatening the entire country and its cohesion. Within the microcosm of the school, the film draws a harrowing portrait of a society torn between its desire for love and peace and the ideological schisms unraveling its seams. 

"AUDACIOUS AND ADMIRABLE; It's very well made, impressively staged and shot with artistic eye for the smallest detail" - Andrew Bundy THE PLAYLIST

"A TRIUMPH . It's an engrossing, poetic and life-affirming emotional journey." - NYC MOVE GURU

"Working with a shrewdly limited setting, Mouaness skillfully gives the film a near-real-time feel" - Ben Kenigsberg, THE NEW YORK TIMES

"(Nadine) Labaki brings experience and gravitas even as she quietly cedes the spotlight to her younger co-stars." - The Wrap

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Dir. Mounia Akl - 2022 - 107m - Lebanon - In Arabic with English Subtitles

In near-future Lebanon’s last remaining green space, the Badri family has built their idyllic mountain home to escape the overflowing garbage and toxic pollution of Beirut. Surrounded by lush rolling hills, the family of five live in relative peace until the youngest spots strangers in the valley - a new, “green” landfill will be constructed just beyond the family’s fence.

Having heard this tale before, both Soraya (Cannes Film Festival-winning actress and filmmaker Nadine Labaki, Capernaum) and her husband Walid (Saleh Bakri) know it is only a matter of time until they begin burning garbage here, too, making their serene escape unlivable. 

As the landfill rises, so do family tensions, and the Badris are left with a choice: stay off the grid and stay true to their ideals, or leave their idyllic home and face the reality they fled. 

Though it is her first feature film, Mounia Akl captures the joys and frustrations of a close-knit family with an intimacy that feels startlingly natural, and sets it against a sharply drawn backdrop of environmental protest and pollution. 

"A stellar near-future family drama. Costa Brava, Lebanon comfortably occupies a space between Beasts of the Southern Wild from Honeyland." - The Playlist

"A terrific feature debut from Mounia Akl which works both as a compelling domestic drama and an elegant political allegory." ?- Screen International

"An environmental flick without making self-righteously grand statements. Akl’s title feels like a breath of fresh air...this is something uniquely special and a perfect, alluring example of all that is wrong with the world we’re living in." ?- Film Threat

"Costa Brava, Lebanon explores the existential struggle of a nation with emotional heft." - The Film Stage

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