1982 + Q&A with Oualid Mouaness

A life-affirming coming-of-age tale set at an idyllic school in Lebanon’s mountains on the eve of Israel’s 1982 invasion of the country. It unfolds over a single day and follows an 11-year-old boy’s relentless quest to profess his love to a girl in his class. As the invasion encroaches on Beirut, it upends the day, threatening the entire country and its cohesion. Within the microcosm of the school, the film draws a harrowing portrait of a society torn between its desire for love and peace and the ideological schisms unraveling its seams.

In his debut feature, writer/director Oualid Mouaness delivers an ode to innocence in which he revisits one of the most cataclysmic moments in Lebanon’s history through the lens of a child and his vibrant imagination. The film demonstrates the complexities of love and war and the resilience of the human spirit.

1982 is the first film from Lebanon to address the polemic and politically sensitive 1982 Lebanon War.

1982 won the CANNES FILM FESTIVAL youth sidebar Cannes Cinéphiles’  PRIX CANNES ECRANS JUNIORS 2021, the Toronto International Film Festival’s NETPAC AWARD 2019 for Best Asian Film.  It also holds the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize and the UNICEF 2021 Prize in Switzerland.

1982 was Lebanon’s Official selection for the 92^nd Academy Awards.

It holds the ‘MUREX D’OR,’ Lebanon’s top honor for Best Feature Film for the years (2019-2021).

Q&A with director Oualid Mouaness following screening.