"Caramel": A French-Lebanese Recipe for a Successful Women's Film

Ronen Zeidel

Set in a beauty salon in Beirut, the Lebanese film "Caramel" (2006) was an unprecedented success in Lebanon and a nominee for the Academy Award for best foreign film. This light comedy raises the question of how a Lebanese film that ignores the impact of the civil war or the Israeli and Syrian invasions and entirely revolves around an intimate feminine experience is possible. Through a review of the film, the article also describes the new Lebanese cinema, which is characterized by a multiplicity of female directors and actors and reflects a prominent European influence.