‘Capernaum’ Director Nadine Labaki on How Cinema Can Help Arab Filmmakers ‘Express Pent-Up Anger,’ ‘Not Being Faced With Agenda’ From Western Funders

Lebanese director Nadine Labaki, whose “Capernaum” is the highest-grossing Arabic and Middle Eastern film of all time with over $68 million worldwide, spoke about “how difficult it is” to make cinema in the Arab region. The director also discussed working with non-actors and dealing with Arab funders during an in-depth career talk at the Red Sea Film Festival, where she is a jury member.

Asked about dealing with Western partners and funds given the “Arab stereotypes” often perpetuated by Western media, the director said she never felt “pressured” by Western funds on how to portray her culture and stories on screen. “We are not at a stage where we can get funding from the countries where we live and work,” she said. “I received funding from the Western world because I couldn’t just have Lebanese funding. When I received this funding, including Western ones, I didn’t feel there was…