'A Sad and Beautiful World' is produced by Lebanese producer Georges Schoucair via his Abbout Productions.
Lebanon has chosen Cyril Aris’ romantic drama A Sad and Beautiful World as its official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards. The film made its world premiere in September 2025 at Venice’s Giornate degli Autori (formerly Venice Days), where it won the People’s Choice Award, voted by festival audiences.
Set against the backdrop of Beirut, the story follows childhood sweethearts Nino and Yasmina, played by Hasan Akil and Mounia Akl, who lose touch and later reunite in their twenties. Their rekindled relationship unfolds in parallel with Lebanon’s shifting political and social landscape.
The film marks a on-screen return for Mounia Akl, known internationally as the director of Costa Brava, Lebanon and for her work on Boiling Point, The Responder and the forthcoming series House of Guinness. Hasan Akil, previously seen in Memory Box, leads the cast alongside Julia Kassar, Camille Salameh, Tino Karam and Nadyn Chalhoub.
A Sad and Beautiful World is Aris’s first narrative feature following his acclaimed documentaries The Swing (2018).
The film is a co-production between Abbout Productions (Lebanon), headed by Georges Schoucair; Diversity Hire (USA), represented by Jen Goyne Blake and April Shih; and Reynard Films (Germany), led by Georg Neubert and Jasper Wiedhöft. It is co-produced with Sunnyland Film, a member of ART and The Red Sea Fund, a Red Sea International Film Festival initiative.
The project received support from several international and regional film funds, including Fonds Image de la Francophonie, Doha Film Institute, Visions Sud Est (with backing from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation), Atlas Workshops and the Lebanese Film Fund, organised by Fondation Liban Cinema and funded by the European Union.
Following its Venice debut, A Sad and Beautiful World is continuing its festival run with screenings at the Hamburg Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival and Seminci – Valladolid, among others. Paradise City Sales is handling the film’s international distribution.
