A tender love story set against a backdrop of political and social upheaval, Cyril Aris's A Sad and Beautiful World has been attracting attention since premiering at the Venice Film Festival in September. The film later won Best Screenplay at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah and was selected as Lebanon's official submission for the Best International Feature Oscar.
A long-gestating romance set in Beirut, the Lebanese writer-director's film tells of Nino (Hasan Akil) and Yasmina (actress-filmmaker Mounia Akl), childhood sweethearts who reunite later in life. It is about as far removed from a Hollywood hearts and flowers fairytale as you might ever wish to see. Nino is the “eternal optimist”, the polar opposite of his counterpart. “She is much more cynical, pragmatic, down to earth, and has a more pessimistic outlook on Lebanon and the future of the country,” says Aris.
This should come as no surprise to anyone that knows Aris’s work in the documentary field. His 2023 work Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano followed the fate of the film crew behind the Akl-directed 2021 movie Costa Brava, Lebanon, which Aris also edited. Like so much else, the production was halted because of the horrifying port explosion that rocked Lebanon in August 2020. But here, bringing Akl back in front of the camera in a role he wrote for her, he wanted to cast his net even wider.
“The source of inspiration is trying to tell this love story over three decades through all the upheavals of the contemporary history of Lebanon,” Aris says.
“And Lebanon traversed by wars and crisis, but also Lebanon going through periods of prosperity, peace and vibrancy, and trying to talk about that through a very specific love relationship between two antagonistic forces of nature that have a completely different viewpoints of the world.”
Amid what is a very pregnant tale of two lovers, the film raises concerns about Lebanese generational trauma. "It was me battling with the question of bringing children into a very uncertain world, specifically in the Middle East,” Aris adds. “When we look at our past, it’s not very bright, and it makes you wonder if the future is going to be any brighter. So to try to understand this legacy that is being passed through generations, it was essential to go back in time in order to project it into the future.”
A Sad and Beautiful World's male lead, Hasan Akil, the Lebanese-Brazilian who rose to prominence in the 2013 show Valet Parking, was something of a reluctant participant in the project. “The first time I saw Cyril, I was feeling pretty depressed,” he reveals, quietly. Fresh from a break-up, he didn’t want to audition for such a painful, poignant romance. “I was feeling pretty nervous even. But Cyril was very good. He give me some of my confidence back, at a time where I didn’t feel like I liked myself or loved myself so much.”
A filmmaker, editor and teacher, Akil is all too aware that making a living from acting is near-impossible in Lebanon. “We have movies, we have prominent directors, but I don't feel like we still have a cinema industry. So being an actor means you have to wait two, three years, sometimes, for talented people to actually make films for you to be part of.”
For many, such as Akil’s female co-star, career progression has meant leaving Lebanon for extended periods. Since directing Costa Brava, Lebanon, Akl has gone on to direct episodes on streamer-shows such as Boiling Point and the recent Netflix hit, House of Guinness. She is now shooting It Gets Worse, a new show with Andrew Scott and Lena Dunham, but it comes at a cost of leaving her homeland.t
Akil and Aris, meanwhile, are both torn by the heartstring pull of leaving Lebanon to try and find a better life. “It’s an inherent part of being Lebanese,” suggests Aris. “That question transcends all the generations. Like Nino says, there’s always a wish to come back, but then once you’re there, there’s always this projection of being outside. It’s a very complex, unanswerable question.”
After studying abroad, Akil returned to Lebanon and has remained ever since. “I really love Lebanon,” he admits. “I honestly don't want to leave, because everybody I know and everybody I love is there.”
He remembers working on his master's degree, during which he’d see Lebanese expats. “They looked pretty miserable, pretty alone in places where they didn't feel like they belonged. No, I’d rather stay in my land and try to succeed.”
A Sad and Beautiful World is now showing at Cinema Akil
