February 18 - Nadine Labaki

Happy 46th Birthday, Nadine Labaki! Born today in 1974, this Lebanese activist, actress and director first came into the spotlight as an actress in the early 2000s.  

  

However, her filmmaking career began in the late 2000s after the release of her debut feature. 

This was with the 2007 Lebanese drama/comedy-drama film 'Caramel'. It had premiered at the 50th Cannes Film Festival in May of that same year. 

  

Among her work, Labaki is best known for co-conceiving, co-writing, directing and co-starring in the 2018 Lebanese/American/French/Cypriot/Qatari/British drama film 'Capharnaüm'('Capernaum').  

  

The film tells that after running away from his negligent parents, committing a violent crime and being sentenced to five years in jail, a hardened, streetwise twelve-year-old Lebanese boy named Zain El Hajj (Zain al-Rafeea) sues his parents in protest of the life they have given him. 

Labaki also co-stars as the boy's mother, credited as Nadine. 

'Capernaum' is currently the highest-grossing Arabic film, and the highest-grossing Middle-Eastern film of all time, after becoming a sleeper hit at the international box office.

'Capernaum’ later received critical acclaim, with particular praise given to Labaki's direction, Al Rafeea's performance and the film's "documentary-like realism".  

Writing for The New York Times, A. O. Scott, along with and American film critic Manohla Dargis, named it as one of the greatest films of 2018.  

The following year, ‘Capernaum’ was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, among several other accolades. This occurred at the 91st Academy Academy Awards in late February 2019. 

Nabaki is also the first female Arab director to be nominated for an Oscar in the category for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year (Lebanon)

‘Capernaum’ is currently the highest-grossing Arabic film, and also the highest-grossing Middle-Eastern film of all time. This was after becoming a sleeper hit at the international box office with $68.6 million worldwide, against a production budget of $4 million.  

Its largest international market is China, where the film became asurprise blockbuster with over $54 million.    

  

Labaki is known for demonstrating everyday aspects of Lebanese life and covering a range of political issues such as war, poverty, and feminism. 

  

Labaki has been active from 1997–present. 

  

#borntoact

#borntodirect 

@NadineLabaki 

@WomenInFilm

@nytimes 

February 18 - László Nemes

Happy 43rd Birthday, László Nemes! Born today in 1977 as Nemes Jeles László, this Hungarian screenwriter and film director is the first Hungarian director whose film has won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. This occurred at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards in January 2016. 

  

Nemes' ambitious debut feature is the one of which he is currently best known for co-writing and directing. This was the 2015 Hungarian drama/thriller film 'Saul fia' ('Son of Saul'). 

  

The film is set during World War II. It follows a Jewish worker named Saul (Géza Röhrig) at the Auschwitz concentration camp. While there, he tries to find a rabbi to give a child a proper burial. 

  

'Son of Saul' had won the Grand Prix at the 68th Cannes Film Festival in May 2015, where it premiered. One month after the Golden Globes in 2016, the film received an Oscar for Best International Feature Film at the 88th Academy Awards in late February. 

  

Nemes has been active from 2004-present. 

  

#borntodirect 

#LaszloNemes 

@sonofsaulfilm 

February 18 - John Hughes

Happy Birthday, John Hughes! Born today in 1950 as John Wilden Hughes Jr., this American filmmaker began as an author of humorous essays and stories for National Lampoon. 

Afterwards, Hughes went on to write, produce and sometimes direct some of the most successful live-action comedy films of the 1980s and 1990s. 

  

Most of Hughes' work is set in the Chicago metropolitan area. He is best known for his coming-of-age teen comedy films which often combined magic realism with honest depictions of suburban teenage life. 

Also, any of his most enduring characters from these years were written for American actress, singer and author Molly Ringwald, who was Hughes' muse. 

  

Although known for writing and directing 'Sixteen Candles' but only writing 'Pretty in Pink', Hughes is best known for writing and directing the 1985 American teen drama/comedy-drama film 'The Breakfast Club' and also for writing and directing the 1986 American teen comedy/drama film 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'. 

  

Hughes had been active from 1970–2009. 

  

#borntodirect 

@tcm 

February 18 - Miloš Forman

Happy Birthday, Miloš Forman! Born today in 1932 as Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman, this Czech-American professor, actor, screenwriter and film director rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States in 1968. 

  

He is best known for directing the 1967 Czechoslovak comedy/drama film 'Horí, má panenko' ('The Firemen's Ball'), the 1975 American drama/comedy-drama film 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' and the 1984 American epic historical period biographical drama film 'Amadeus'.  

  

Throughout his career, Forman had received the Oscar for Best Director and Best Picture Oscar twice. The first occurrence was for 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' at the 48th Academy Awards in late March 1976. The second was for 'Amadeus' at the 57th Academy Awards in late March 1985.

He had also been an important figure in the Czechoslovak New Wave. 

Forman had been active from 1953–2018. 

  

#borntodirect 

@Criterion 

@tcm
#CzechItOut