SYNOPSIS

"1982" is a life-affirming coming-of-age tale set at an idyllic school in Lebanon’s mountains on the eve of a looming invasion. It unfolds over a single day and follows an 11-year-old boy’s relentless quest to profess his love to a girl in his class. As the invasion encroaches on Beirut, it upends the day, threatening the entire country and its cohesion. Within the microcosm of the school, the film draws a harrowing portrait of a society torn between its desire for love and peace and the ideological schisms unraveling its seams. 

In his debut feature, director Oualid Mouaness delivers an ode to innocence in which he revisits one of the most cataclysmic moments in Lebanon's history through the lens of a child and his vibrant imagination. The film demonstrates the complexities of love and war, and the resilience of the human spirit.

"1982" stars Mohamad Dalli (in his acting debut) and Lebanese superstar Nadine Labaki (Capernaum, Where Do We Go Now, Caramel) alongside an extraordinary ensemble cast of professional and non-professional actors. The film won the PRIX CANNES ECRANS JUNIORS 2021 (Cannes Film Festival’s young audiences sidebar Cannes Cinephiles) , the Toronto International Film Festival’s NETPAC AWARD, a FIPRESCI International Critics Prize at El-Gouna International Film Festival, and the UNICEF 2021 prize among numerous others. It was also Lebanon’s official submission to the 92nd Academy Awards and holds the Murex D’Or, Lebanon’s Best Feature Film honor of the last two years. 

“1982” is the first film from Lebanon to address the polemic and politically sensitive 1982 war. The film’s theatrical release coincides with the 40th anniversary of the 1982 Lebanon War which is on June 6th (the week of the film's opening).