Lebanon’s Nadine Labaki made history on Tuesday when her movie Capharnaum was nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign language film, making her the first female Arab director ever to be nominated in this category.
Capernaum will compete against heavy Mexican favorite “Roma”, Poland’s “Cold War”, Germany’s “Never Look Away” and Japane’s “Shoplifters”.
Labaki took home the Cannes jury award for Capharnaum at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival last May.
The film is set in the slums of Beirut, and follows the life of Zain, a 12-year-old boy trying in vain to prevent his younger sister being married off as she comes into puberty.
