Thursday 20th June, we'll present our only foreign-language film of the summer, the extraordinary social-realist drama CAPERNAUM, in which a streetwise 12-year-old boy in Beirut takes his negligent parents to court (in Arabic, with English subtitles).

THURSDAY, 20 JUNE – 7.30pm

CAPERNAUM (Capharnaüm)

2018 | Lebanon-France-US | Drama | Directed by Nadine Labaki. Starring Zain al-Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw, Boluwatife Treasure Bankole, Kawsar al-Haddad, Elias Khoury. 126 min. Rated 15. In Arabic, with English subtitles.

An exhilarating, breathtaking and urgent story of social realism.

Having fled his abusive family, 12-year-old Zain is alone on the streets of Beirut. The film follows Zain as he journeys from gutsy, streetwise child to hardened 12-year-old ‘adult,’ surviving through his wits.

When Zain meets Ethiopian migrant worker and single mother Rahil, she provides him with shelter and food, in exchange for taking care of her baby son Yonas. Zain forms a strong bond Yonas, but the relative idyll is cut short when Rahil is jailed and Zain is faced with supporting the baby.

Inspired by real-life experiences of its young cast, the film’s events are bookended by an astonishing framing device: Zain’s attempt to sue his parents for giving him life, after he’s jailed for committing a violent crime.

This is director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki’s third film, which won the Jury Award at Cannes and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar (along with Cold Warand Shoplifters).

NOTE: Our screening of Capernaum is partially funded by the BFI Cinematheque scheme, which encourages audiences to explore more diverse and independent films.

“Harsh and abrasive, and sometimes difficult . . . but Labaki has layered the film with just enough moments of kindness to break your heart.” – Kevin Maher, The Times ★★★★

“Labaki’s direction of her young leads is miraculous, while the handheld cinematography and electrifying editing convey the chaos of the milieu and the grimness of the global crisis that has precipitated it.”  – Radio Times

For more information and tickets, visit www.haylefilmclub.org.uk or call 01736 753184

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Tickets remain a reasonable £5 per person for general admission, £4 per person for members (membership is £7.50 per year).

NOTE: Films classified as F Rated (two this season) are those that: 1) are directed by a woman; 2) are written by a woman; and/or 3) feature significant women on screen in their own right. Developed by the Bath Film Festival, the rating is designed to support and promote women and redress the imbalance in the film industry. Highlighting these films sends a clear message to distributors, producers and funders that women can and should have more than just a supporting role within the industry.