Costa Brava, Lebanon

Lebanon/2021—directed by Mounia Akl | 106 minutes

In the not-so-distant future, the five members of the free-spirited Badri family have escaped the smog and social unrest of big-city life in Beirut life by settling down in a far more tranquil, idyllic mountain home. Surrounded by lush rolling hills, the family is getting used to relative peace and quiet until the youngest child spots strangers in the valley, and learns that a new, “green” landfill will be constructed just beyond their fence.

Before long, household tension rises along with the landfill, and the family’s conundrum reveals long-simmering differences within the family. Deftly written and performed, with more than a touch of sardonic wit, director Mounia Akl’s prizewinning debut feature captures the joys and frustrations of a close-knit family with an intimacy that feels startlingly natural, and sets them against a superbly drawn backdrop of environmental and social change.

“A stellar family drama, clear-eyed and above all sincere. This is a film worth savoring.” -Andrew Crump, The Playlist 

Official Selection, Venice, Toronto, Chicago, San Francisco, and Arab American National Museum Film Festivals; Audience Award, London Film Festival. In Arabic with English subtitles.