Stuff We Love
The First Lebanese Film Ever Selected at the Cannes Film Festival
Lebanese filmmakers have left their mark in the world of cinema. Recent achievements include Nadine Labaki serving as a jury member at the Cannes Film Festival and the incredible Lebanese film Arzé being featured at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival. However, it was Ila Ayn? (1957) that placed Lebanon on the world stage as the first Lebanese film to ever be selected in the Cannes Film Festival.
The iconic film was directed by Georges Nasser, a Lebanese director who is considered a pioneering figure in Lebanese cinema.
Georges Nasser: the Father of Lebanese Cinema
Nasser was born in Tripoli in 1927 and pursued film studies at UCLA in Hollywood. Upon returning to Lebanon, he dedicated his time to create films. Lebanon did not even have an established film industry at the time. In 1957, he directed Ila Ayn, the first ever Lebanese film officially featured in the Cannes Film Festival.
The film competed for the Palme d’Or alongside some of the most notable directors in the world. The film made a significant impact on jury members, like George Stevens and Marcel Pagnol. Its exploration of immigration and its genuine portrayal of the working class remain as relevant today as they were in 1957. Nasser later directed Le Petit Etranger, also selected for Cannes in 1962. Al Matloub Rajol Wahed (1975) was his final film.
Ila Ayn? follows an underprivileged family in a Lebanese mountain village. The father abandons them to seek a better life in Brazil, believed to be a land of opportunity. Twenty years later, the mother struggles to raise their children. The elder starts a family, while the younger prepares to emigrate to Brazil. The arrival of an old man in the village sets the stage for the unfolding narrative.
lla Ayn: A Cannes Classic
It wasn’t until 2017 that the Cannes Film Festival could restore a copy of the film. During the festival’s 70th anniversary that year, they screened the film in the Cannes Classics section to celebrate its restoration.
Antoine Waked and Badih Massaad released a documentary titled A Certain Nasser (2017). It highlights the compelling journey of the beloved filmmaker, who passed away in 2019.
If you’re curious, here’s the full film on YouTube:
