‘Capharnaüm’ retraces the journey of 12-year-old Zain, who decides to sue his parents for having brought him into this world when they clearly can’t give him the care he so desperately needs. Void of even a minimal level of security and affection, Zain does his best to provide for his younger siblings and protect his beloved sister from the advances of a much older neighbour. Gutsy and streetwise, Zain flees one day to seek a life of his own and meets up with Ethiopian refugee Rahil and her baby son, Yonas.

Zain, however, has no documents and so in the legal sense, does not exist. His case is emblematic of a problem raised throughout the film – the legitimacy of a human being. Beautifully directed, Labaki delivers a remarkably rich coming of age story that shows the harsh and unforgiving reality of life for those on the fringes of society. Made with a cast of non-professionals brilliantly playing characters whose lives closely parallel those of the protagonists, ‘Capharnaüm’ is a resonating tale of a child who is punished by a system that never gave him a chance.