L.A. Welcomes Lebanese Filmmaker Nadine Labaki, Who Wrote, Stars in “Caramel”

By Pat and Samir Twair


	“Caramel” screenwriter and star Nadine Labaki is toasted by Lebanon’s Consul General in Los Angeles Fadi Hajali (Staff photo S. Twair).

WHILE ON A whirlwind promotional tour of her film, “Caramel,” which opened nationwide in February, screenwriter, director and actress Nadine Labaki was honored Jan. 18 in the home of Lebanon’s Consul General in Los Angeles Fadi Hajali.

Many Lebanese Americans who are engaged in the Hollywood film industry were on hand as the consul general toasted Labaki and praised her for “creating a film that represents a renaissance in independent film production in Lebanon.”

“Caramel” tells the story of five women whose lives intersect in a Beirut hair salon. The title comes from the waxy hair depilatory used for centuries by women of the Middle East.

“Caramel is sweet, yet it burns the skin,” explained Labaki, who opens her feature film with a sensuous close-up of the bubbling confection made of sugar, lemon juice and water. “Applying caramel to the skin is something women do away from men. We share our secrets during this ritual.”

“I wanted to reveal the human side of life in Lebanon,” she told the Washington Report,“ and what a typical day is like and how we Muslims, Christians and Druze live together.”

Labaki, who studied filmmaking at St. Joseph College in Beirut, said she early in life learned the art of story telling from her uncle, who was the family hakawati. Her first success was in producing music videos showcasing Lebanese chanteuse Nancy Ajram in “Akhasmak Ali,” “Ya Salam” and “Enta Eih.”

After writing the script, Labaki spent nearly a year trying to find women in Beirut who resembled her characters. She purposely did not want professional actors, she explained, and the spontaneity of each authenticates the plot of women supporting each other as they cope with their problems.

Once she had assembled her cast, Labaki discovered that these individuals didn’t always follow directions, would object to wearing certain costumes, and often improvised their lines.

“Caramel” was filmed in one month on a $1.5 million budget. It premiered at the Cannes 2007 Film Festival and was Lebanon’s official selection in last year’s Academy Awards foreign language category. Not bad for a director-screenwriter’s first feature film.

L.A. Jews for Peace Protest Gaza Siege


A member of LA Jews for Peace at a Jan. 25 protest in front of the Israeli Consulate (Staff photo S. Twair).

Outraged over the mounting humanitarian crisis in Gaza, members of Los Angeles Jews for Peace began a Sunday vigil and protest in mid-December at the crowded and popular Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Sometimes they were spat on or called self-hating Jews—in one confrontation, a group of men claiming to be former IDF soldiers challenged the vigil, and one bragged that he had shot dead five Palestinians—but more often than not passersby read their signs and accepted flyers describing the dire conditions under which Gaza civilians are living.

The Promenade vigils were staged Dec. 16 and 23 and Jan. 6 and 13. As reports of Gaza deaths and starvation increased under severe fuel cutoffs by the Israelis, more than 30 members and friends from Women In Black staged a rousing protest Jan. 25 in front of the Los Angeles Israeli Consulate.

Their “Stop the Gaza Siege” signs were prominent in the throng of protesters Jan. 31 in front of the Kodak Theater, where the Democratic presidential candidate debate was taking place. Now they’ve taken their Sunday vigils to Westwood in hope of generating interest from UCLA students.

“Little Gaza” Protest in Anaheim


	Several hundred demonstrators gathered Jan. 25 at Brookhurst Street’s “Little Gaza” in Anaheim to protest Israel’s siege of Gaza (Staff photo S. Twair).

Even though the pressure cooker of misery in Gaza erupted with the Jan. 23 breach of the border wall with Egypt, more than 500 mostly young supporters of Palestine gathered Jan. 25 in the “Little Gaza” area of Brookhurst Street in Anaheim to protest the Israeli siege of Gaza.

Muna Kobtee of Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) declared that all Arab leaders should be held responsible for the humanitarian crisis taking place in Gaza. Criticizing PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas for bargaining with the Israelis, she said, “The Gazans aren’t asking for charity, they’re asking for their right to live as humans. And it is our right as American citizens to object to our tax dollars going to dehumanize the Palestinians.”

Al-Awda’s Zahi Dammuni stated: “Shame on emirs who have the nerve to dance with President Bush while Gazans starve. I have a message for [Israeli Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert: the Palestinians will remain in Palestine. Our people have the right to choose their leaders.”

Across the street from the rousing demonstration, police cars surrounded 19 counter-demonstrators brandishing a large Israeli flag and smaller U.S. flags, making their priorities known.

Emergency Interfaith Meeting on Gaza


(l-r): Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs, Rev. Peter Laarman, Dr. Maher Hathout and Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak speak out against the Israeli siege (Staff photo S. Twair).

As the suffering in Gaza intensified due to Israel’s drastic cuts of fuel and food to Gazans, the Islamic Center of Southern California decided to break the silence on the man-made disaster and called for a Jan. 24 Interfaith protest of the looming humanitarian disaster.

“We are here to give a voice to the voiceless who are the terrorized and suffering,” stated Dr. Maher Hathout.

Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs said it is impossible to contain 1.5 million people in a prison. “Sooner or later, the situation will explode,” he explained, because Gazans have a right to the outside world, to food and necessities.”

Commented the Rev. Peter Laaman: “I am deeply ashamed of the non-response from Christians to the magnitude of suffering on the part of the Palestinians. The Israeli tactic of pressure has backfired.

“If the only criteria is Israeli security and human rights are pushed aside,” he stated, “the policy will fail. There are no ‘lessers’ in God’s world. Christians should not forget they are asked to side with the weakest and most vulnerable.”

LAU President Feted


	(l-r): Dr. Hanna and Dr. Najwa Shammas greet Nancy and Dr. Joseph Jabbra, president of Lebanese American University (Staff photo S. Twair).

On Jan. 4, the rainiest evening of the season, Dr. Hanna and Dr. Najwa Shammas opened their palatial Los Feliz home for a reception honoring Lebanese American University president Dr. Joseph Jabbra and his wife, Nancy.

Since he was invited to direct LAU three-and-a-half years ago, Dr. Jabbra noted, he has established a proactive plan to make the institution a world class campus. (See “Lebanese American University: Building Fine Minds and Incredible Spirits” by Delinda C. Hanley, Jan./Feb. 2008 Washington Report, p. 32.) A medical school is scheduled to open soon which will be complemented by a college for nurses.

While more than 18 percent of students come from abroad, the educator said, LAU’s goal is to establish scholarships for needy Lebanese students of merit so that it isn’t a university for the elite. For more information, visit <www.lau.edu.lb>.

Pat and Samir Twair are free-lance journalists based in Los Angeles.