A Sad and Beautiful World

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A Sad and Beautiful World

Q&A with director Cyril Aris

2025. 110 m. Cyril Aris. Watermelon Pictures. Lebanon/US/Germany/Saudi Arabia/Qatar. Arabic with subtitles. Rated NR.

Across three decades of passion, loss, and hope, Nino and Yasmina are bound by a magnetic relationship. Torn between love and survival, the reunited childhood sweethearts must decide whether to build a family and seek happiness in Lebanon, or leave their home amid the country’s unfolding tragedies. A heartfelt portrayal of resilience, A Sad and Beautiful World made its world premiere at Venice Days, where it won the People’s Choice Award.

Q&A with director Cyril Aris will be followed by an opening night reception in Take 3 Wine Bar and Café.

Tickets: $15 (members), $20 (nonmembers)

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"No matter how much Nino [and Yasmina] may try to detach their devotion for one another from the problems afflicting Lebanon, the turmoil seeps into their home, proving that even the most personal choices are inevitably tied to larger forces. "
Carlos Aguilar, Variety

PAST EVENTS

Q&A with director Cyril Aris moderated by series curator Lina Matta

Wednesday, Jul. 22 2026, 7:00

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Lebanese writer-director Cyril Aris made his fiction feature debut with A Sad and Beautiful World (2025), drawing on his own experience growing up in Lebanon during the turbulent 1990s and early 2000s. His previous documentary Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano (2023) was supported by the Sundance Institute. It premiered in the main competition at Karlovy Vary and won a Special Jury mention, going on to screen at BFI, CPH DOX, DOC NYC, and over 80 festivals worldwide. His feature documentary, The Swing screened at ANA in 2019. His short film The President's Visit (2017) premiered at TIFF and played in over 100 festivals. He holds an MFA from Columbia University and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Lina Matta is the series curator for Contemporary Arab Cinema, the Director of Shahid AVOD, MBC 4 and the two movie channels, MBC 2 and MBC MAX at MBC Group in Dubai. A film fanatic, Lina watches movies at work and for fun. In her spare time she attends film festivals. If you’re looking for Lina, you may find her eating a frozen dog in Park City, UT, grabbing a felafel sandwich in Toronto or chasing a food truck in Austin, TX. Lina holds an M.A. in Film from Boston University. She’s been a news producer, a TV director, a field audio engineer, an original web content producer and she once worked closely with a Libyan revolutionary!