Dystopian Images of Beirut in The Lebanese Oscar-nominated Film Capernaum (2018)

Abstract

In this paper I will explore how Nadine Labaki’s Oscar-nominated film Capernaum (2018), evokes a dystopian image of Beirut, often focusing on the struggles of the poorest inhabitants of the city, trapped in its slums. Prior to the film, this part of the city was an invisible place to many Lebanese (including me, someone who grew up in Beirut) as well as to a wider international community. I will analyse how Labaki’s voice and directorial style succeed in bringing visibility to the people who reside in that place but legally barely exist. I argue that Labaki’s grim representation of Beirut in Capernaum (2018) foreshadows the cruel life conditions that most of the people are facing now (2022) in Lebanon.