Films in shooting or post-production
IT'S A SAD AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD
Synopsis
On Lebanon’s darkest day, Nino and Yasmina are born seconds apart. The enigmatic star-watcher Zachariya foresees a cosmic event connected to their lives. As children, Nino and Yasmina share a deep understanding of each other’s struggles, forming an unbreakable bond. Yasmina offers Nino an escape from Beirut’s harsh reality, but the plan fails and they are separated. Twenty-four years later, cosmic forces reunite them and they fall deeply in love. Despite her plan to emigrate, Yasmina remains in Lebanon, swept away by love. When Yasmina becomes pregnant, her cynicism makes her hesitant to keep the child, even though Nino longs for one. Eventually, she comes to realize that Nino is the man with whom she wants to build a family. Years later, their daughter Amal brings them new life but, as Beirut falls apart, their divergent ambitions for Amal’s future threaten to tear them apart, all the while the skies erupt in a surreal spectacle.
Joe Saade
Nat Sanders
Mounia Akl, Hassan Akil, Camile Salameh, Julia Kassar, Tino Karam, Nadyn Chalhoub
Reynard Films (Germany)
Georg Neubert
Diversity Hire (USA)
Jennifer Goyne Blake
Director’s statement
The journey of It's a Sad and Beautiful World began with a haunting question that followed me as I transitioned from adulthood to parenthood: Is it worthwhile to bring children into an overpopulated, harsh, and cruel world? Many millennials share this sense of pessimism, and Lebanon stands as a poignant example, trapped in a cycle of tragedy that raises doubts about a hopeful future for the next generations. The film centers around a couple whose lives from childhood to adulthood structure the film's narrative against the backdrop of Beirut as it oscillates between prosperity and devastation. The tone of the film follows these movements, shifting from dream and comedy, to family and social drama. While Beirut still bubbles with incessant life, a question remains: Can the trauma of one nation undermine the hopes and dreams of even its most optimistic lovers?
Biographies
Lebanese writer-director Cyril Aris’ most recent documentary Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano (2023), which received a grant from the Sundance Institute, had its premiere in the main competition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it won a Special Jury Mention. It went on to screen in the BFI London Film Festival, CPH:Dox, Doc NYC, and more than 80 festivals. His short film The President’s Visit (2017) premiered in the Toronto International Film Festival). Aris holds an MFA from Columbia University and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Founder and CEO of Abbout Productions, Georges Schoucair has developed and produced critically acclaimed and award-winning independent films. His work has actively contributed to the establishment of an attractive and globally acknowledged environment for film investment in Lebanon, as well as to the development of Lebanese cinema. Schoucair co-founded MC Distribution and, since 2008, has been Vice President of Metropolis, the only arthouse cinema in Beirut. His most recent endeavor is the founding of Schortcut Films in 2016.
