The monsters are conundrums in God’s creation;
Their contrary features defy a clear classification.
To all those monsters, certain things are common:
They have peculiar features that cause confusion;
They possess magical powers, and, what is more,
For each of those monsters there is always a hero
Who would either kill or disable it sooner or later.
Dharanidhar Sahu
Screenwriter and director Nadine Labaki described the conception of the film Capharnaüm:
At the end of the day, those children are really paying a very high price for our conflicts, and our wars, and our systems, and our stupid decisions, and governments. I felt the need to talk about the problem, and I was thinking, if those children could talk, or could express themselves, what would they say? What would they tell us, this society that ignores them?
The script is based on an original story penned by Labaki Jihad Hojeily whose credits include “Caramel” and “Where Do We Go Now”.
A political and contemporary fable in the vein of Labaki’s first two movies, “Cafarnaum” centers around a child who rebels against the life he’s been imposed and launches a lawsuit.
“‘Cafarnaum’ will have the same humour et humanity as Nadine Labaki’s last films – it will mix fiction and documentary-style realism and will star all fresh new faces, mostly non-professionals,” said French producer, Anne-Dominique Toussaint.