CAPHARNAÜM is a socially charged neorealist parable of the will to survive and childhood ingenuity, charged with emotion interlaced with warmth and humour.
After being jailed for committing a violent crime, Zain, a mistreated 12-year-old boy, sues his parents for giving him life. Zain is part of a large family that lives hand to mouth in a crammed, crumbling apartment. The kids work instead of attend school as their parents cannot afford it. When his 11-year-old sister is sold into marriage out of desperation, Zain flees his troubled family in the hope of finding a better life. An illegal Ethiopian worker, Rahil, takes pity on Zain while he is wandering the streets begging. She takes him to her shanty house where she lives with her baby, Yonas, and lovingly cares for Zain in a way his parents never did. Zain is suddenly left as Yonas’ sole caretaker when Rahil disappears, and is forced to resort to increasingly desperate measures to survive.
Director Nadine Labaki (Where Do We Go Now?, Caramel) cast non-professional actors from backgrounds similar to their characters, resulting in authentic and extraordinary performances that you will not forget.
CAPHARNAÜM is ClubInk’s January movie-of-the-month, with members receiving a double pass to see the movie.
CAPHARNAÜM is in cinemas February 7, 2019
