Contributing Reporter 

Life goes on in spite of the war, according to Nadine Labaki. 

In her new film, “Caramel,” Labaki attempts to portray the other side of life in the Middle East— the human side.

Labaki, now 33, was only 17 when the civil war in Lebanon ended. 

“I belong to a generation that wants to talk about something different … something that is closer to the feelings that we know and the experiences that we have, than to war,” Labaki said. 

Unfortunately, one week after she finished shooting “Caramel,” in the summer of 2006, a new war with Israel erupted. 

Labaki had strong feelings of guilt about going forward with her movie under these circumstances but she told herself that 

“Caramel” was another way of surviving the war, of getting over it, of winning it and of getting revenge. 

She also worried about the risk of releasing a movie when people were afraid to go out to the movies.

But she went ahead anyway.

Labaki said that people in Beirut are proud of the movie, saying that it seems as if everyone thinks of the film like it is their baby.

 “Caramel” is the story of five female friends at a beauty salon in Beirut. It is about the confusion modern women feel when faced with the constraints of traditional society. 

The stories are the real life stories of women she knows. The actors are friends and acquaintances. 

Labaki decided to focus on women because she wanted the story to be authentic 

“I am someone who is living the confusion,” she said. 

“[In Beirut], you are always aware of how people look at you, how people judge you,” she added. 

Labaki believes that this is because of the weight of tradition, religion, education and family. 

She said that Lebanon is a place of contradictions and that women need to find the right balance between tradition and modernity. 

Labaki was born in Lebanon and studied filmmaking at Saint Joseph University in Beirut. She started out directing commercials and music videos. 

“There’s no movie industry in Lebanon. It’s like small ventures that each director has. There’s no structure, there’s no industry,” Labaki said.

 “I didn’t know where to begin. Then I met my producer. He helped a lot.” 

“Caramel,” which opens Feb. 8 is Labaki’s first film.