Capernaum - Movie

 2018. Lebanese.

The story is about a 12 year old boy Zain who is in jail for stabbing a man who married his 13 year old sister who dies in pregnancy complications. Zain sues his parents for having him, for having been born. Through Zain's short life we see the struggles of those who live in the slums of Beirut, refugees who come from Africa with no papers and who are at the mercy of the law. Zain runs away after having failed to protect his sister from marriage and finds a young Ethiopian woman who has a small child out of wedlock, living on forged papers. The best parts of the movie are about Zain taking care of the one year old baby while the mother goes out to work. It's a hard look at life. 

Zain is brilliant. The film is directed by Nadine Lebaki and has won much critical acclaim, including a 15 minute standing ovation at Cannes!