Cyril Aris used the Venice platform to present his fiction debut, A Sad and Beautiful World, describing it as a portrait of love and daily life shaped by Lebanon’s contradictions and what he called “generational trauma.” The film premiered in the festival’s Giornate degli Autori competition and follows Yasmina and Nino through three decades as they weigh whether to build a family at home or leave for stability abroad. Festival listings show multiple screenings between August 28 and September 6, including public Q&As, underscoring an on-the-ground launch aimed at fueling word of mouth.
Set against rolling crises, Aris and co-writer Bane Fakih frame emigration not as an abstract policy question but as a personal choice that collides with identity and memory. Reviews from Venice highlight the film’s blend of romance, humor and anxiety, with a recurring question—can a future still be imagined in Beirut?—threaded through the couple’s story. Paradise City Sales is handling international rights; production comes from Abbout Production, Diversity Hire and Reynard Films.
The cast is led by Mounia Akl and Hasan Akil, with critics noting their lived-in dynamic as the film moves between intimate moments and sudden shocks. Festival notes list the running time at 110 minutes and confirm the Venice Days competition berth; the program also outlines the title’s public screenings at Sala Perla and city cinemas during the week.
A Sad and Beautiful World marks a pivot for Aris after two nonfiction features that circulated widely on the circuit. The Swing (2018) premiered at Karlovy Vary, and Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano (2023) earned a Special Jury Mention at the same festival before additional prizes and international play. Those films’ attention to ordinary resilience carries into the new work, which Venice coverage describes as toggling between reality and fantasy and anchored by Anthony Sahyoun’s score.
Giornate degli Autori’s materials list the film as a Lebanon-US-Germany-Saudi Arabia-Qatar co-production, reflecting a financing model common to recent Lebanese features. The schedule charts a press-industry bow followed by public screenings and Q&As on the Lido and in Venice proper.
