Capharnaüm. The unseen side of Beirut

Beirut is a modern capital city of the Middle East, built on the Mediterranean coast, with a population of about 1 million. Because of its cosmopolitan vibe, it bears the nickname “Paris of the East”. After the bloody 15-year civil war, Beirut and Lebanon in general recovered and regained glamor and wealth. This is widely evident in buildings, cars and Lebanese lifestyle.
However, behind the glass facades of luxurious structures and multi-storey apartment buildings, there is an unseen side of the city. That of the refugees, mainly from the war-torn Syria living in camps, of the poor who live in slums away from tourist eyes. Of the street children that no one turns an eye on them, eliminating feelings of guilt.
This side of Beirut is strongly depicted on Nadine Labaki’s dramatic film Capharnaüm (which also means chaos), that won a number of awards at international festivals, including the Cannes Film Festival jury prize and an Oscar nomination for best foreign film. The protagonist, 12-year-old Zain from Syria, a real street kid who has never gone to school, attributed a shocking acting to the script plot.
Following the footsteps of the film, we discovered some of the places where refugees live, they welcomed us with a touching hospitality, offering us from their poor household.

The film trailer

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