{ "id": "ep9dc47ad8", "slug": "caramel-2007-film", "title": "Caramel (سكر بنات) (2007 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2007-to-2008", "label": "Comedies of 2007 to 2008", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2007-to-2008" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2007-to-2008.yr-2007", "label": "Released in 2007", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2007-to-2008.yr-2007" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.mena.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Middle East and North Africa · 2001 to 2020: Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "path": [ { "id": "geo.mena", "label": "Middle East and North Africa", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t2001", "label": "Middle East and North Africa · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t2001.culture.performance.screen" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Caramel (سكر بنات, Sukkar banat) is Nadine Labaki's 2007 French-Lebanese debut feature about five women around a Beirut beauty salon; it premiered at Cannes Directors' Fortnight, won three San Sebastian awards, and became Lebanon's Oscar candidate.", "snippet": "Caramel (سكر بنات, Sukkar banat) is Nadine Labaki's 2007 French-Lebanese debut feature about five women around a Beirut beauty salon; it premiered at Cannes Directors' Fortnight, won three San Sebastian awards, and became Lebanon's Oscar candidate.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2007-to-2008.yr-2007", "markdown": "# Caramel (سكر بنات) (2007 film)\n\n**Caramel** (Arabic: سكر بنات, *Sukkar banat*) is a 2007 French-Lebanese romantic comedy-drama directed by [Nadine Labaki](https://www.edgepedia.org/nadine-labaki), her first feature film, about five women whose lives intersect around a beauty salon in Beirut[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/76801/) • [2](https://www.screendaily.com/caramel/4036267.article). It premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and became one of the most internationally successful Lebanese films to that date[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/76801/) • [3](https://magazine.lau.edu.lb/documents/lau-magazine-vol12-issue3-fall2010.pdf).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | سكر بنات (*Sukkar banat*), literally \"burnt sugar\", the sugar-water-lemon paste used for hair removal[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/76801/) • [4](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/caramel-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) |\n| Director and writers | Nadine Labaki, co-written with Jihad Hojeily and Rodney El Haddad[2](https://www.screendaily.com/caramel/4036267.article) |\n| Countries and runtime | France and Lebanon, 2007, 96 minutes[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/76801/) |\n| Premiere | Cannes 2007, Directors' Fortnight[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/76801/) |\n| Awards | San Sebastian 2007: Audience Award, Youth Award, Sebastiane Award[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/76801/) |\n| Budget | $1,600,000[5](https://asjp.cerist.dz/en/downArticle/20/13/2/150411) |\n| Reception | Metacritic 70; Rotten Tomatoes 93% from 81 reviews; IMDb 7.1/10[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caramel) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/caramel/critic-reviews/) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0825236/ratings/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Story and characters\n\nThe film follows five women whose lives center on a Beirut beauty salon[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/76801/):\n\n- **Layale** (Nadine Labaki), the salon owner, is caught up in an affair with a married man and is obsessed with his unwitting wife[4](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/caramel-film-review-by-jennie-kermode).\n- **Nisrine** (Yasmine Al Massri) is about to marry a conservative Muslim but worries because she is not a virgin, and goes to extreme lengths to convince her future husband otherwise[2](https://www.screendaily.com/caramel/4036267.article) • [12](https://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/amphtml/The-Culture/Movies/2008/0201/p12s02-almo.html).\n- **Rima** (Joanna Moukarzel), a salon assistant, is attracted to a female client; her lesbian romance is portrayed entirely in metaphor, notably through sensuous scenes of hairdressing[4](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/caramel-film-review-by-jennie-kermode).\n- **Jamale** (Gisèle Aouad) is an aging actress struggling to convince everyone, including herself, that she is still young[4](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/caramel-film-review-by-jennie-kermode).\n- **Rose** (Sihame Haddad) is an aging seamstress who avoids the attentions of a suitor in order to care for her older sister[4](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/caramel-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) • [12](https://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/amphtml/The-Culture/Movies/2008/0201/p12s02-almo.html).\n\nSupporting characters include a traffic cop (Adel Karam) who falls in love with Layale, and Rose's elderly sister, who wanders the streets collecting parking tickets she believes are letters from a lost love[4](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/caramel-film-review-by-jennie-kermode). Men are largely kept on the periphery of the story, appearing as sources of both fascination and torment for the women[2](https://www.screendaily.com/caramel/4036267.article).\n\n**The title.** The Arabic title refers to the Middle Eastern practice of hair removal using a heated paste of sugar, water and lemon juice, a painful process that Labaki's character applies to salon clients; Labaki also cited \"the idea of sweet and salt, sugary and sour\"[10](https://www.screendaily.com/momentum-takes-uk-rights-to-labakis-cannes-hit-caramel/4033087.article). The film's opening credits are built around the preparation of the caramel paste[13](https://www.critikat.com/actualite-cine/critique/caramel/).\n\n## Production\n\nLabaki, born in Beirut in 1974, studied media at Saint Joseph University in Beirut and became known for directing music videos for Arab singers before turning to feature film[5](https://asjp.cerist.dz/en/downArticle/20/13/2/150411). In 2004 she took part in the Festival de Cannes Résidence to finish writing the screenplay for *Caramel*, her first feature, which she shot in 2006[9](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/75681.pdf).\n\n**Shooting and the 2006 war.** Labaki shot the film in Beirut in late spring 2006, when the city was in a buoyant mood following the departure of the Syrian army. Seven days after the wrap party came Israeli bombing runs above the city, and since the airport was blocked, Labaki could not start post-production in Paris until September[10](https://www.screendaily.com/momentum-takes-uk-rights-to-labakis-cannes-hit-caramel/4033087.article). Labaki later described the film as a revolt against the war, saying she wanted to write about the future and everyday human feelings rather than return to the war[11](https://assahraa.ma/journal/2007/50242).\n\nThe film was produced by Anne-Dominique Toussaint for Les Films des Tournelles, with Les Films de Beyrouth, Roissy Films, Arte France Cinéma and other French and Lebanese backers; cinematography was by Yves Sehnaoui, editing by Laure Gardette, and the music by Khaled Mouzanar[2](https://www.screendaily.com/caramel/4036267.article) • [5](https://asjp.cerist.dz/en/downArticle/20/13/2/150411).\n\n## Casting and style\n\nLabaki cast largely non-professional actors, saying she wanted real characters rather than actresses playing roles; several of the five leads were appearing on screen for the first time[11](https://assahraa.ma/journal/2007/50242) • [2](https://www.screendaily.com/caramel/4036267.article). Critics noted the film's rich color and light, its episodic structure, and its attention to everyday detail in the salon[2](https://www.screendaily.com/caramel/4036267.article) • [4](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/caramel-film-review-by-jennie-kermode). Politics and Lebanon's wars are almost entirely absent from the story; the occasional sequences of police officers or soldiers on the streets are the only hints of the problems beyond the salon[2](https://www.screendaily.com/caramel/4036267.article).\n\n## Reception and significance\n\nAfter its Cannes premiere, *Caramel* was quickly established as a festival crowd-pleaser and was chosen as Lebanon's candidate for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film[2](https://www.screendaily.com/caramel/4036267.article). It won the Audience Award, the Youth Award, and the Sebastiane Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival in 2007[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/76801/). In the United States it grossed $1.1 million through distributor Roadside Attractions[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caramel), and its worldwide gross was reported as $14,273,849[14](https://www.moviescore.com/movie/caramel-%282007%29). Review aggregation gave it a Metascore of 70, a 93% Tomatometer rating from 81 reviews, and an IMDb rating of 7.1/10[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/caramel/critic-reviews/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caramel) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0825236/ratings/).\n\n**Arab-world reception.** The film struck a chord with moviegoers across the [Arab world](https://www.edgepedia.org/arab-world), where it continued to play in theaters; the Los Angeles Times called it one of the most successful Lebanese films ever, noting that its storyline of a lesbian openly longing for another woman was novel for conservative audiences yet elicited little negative reaction in Lebanon or the Gulf countries[15](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jan-27-ca-caramel27-story.html). In Egypt it was the only Arab country to classify the film for adults only, while it was banned in Kuwait and shown without a single cut in Qatar, the [United Arab Emirates](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-arab-emirates), Bahrain, Lebanon, Tunisia, and Morocco[16](https://www.cinematechhaddad.com/Cinematech/WrightsInCinema/WrightInCinema_5481.HTM).\n\nScholars have read the film as a study of Lebanese women caught between tradition and a modernizing, \"liberated\" womanhood, and as an unusual Lebanese film in its complete avoidance of the civil war that dominates much of the country's cinema[17](https://sajournalofarthistory.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/SAJAH_33_1.pdf) • [18](https://analepsis.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2010-historical-dictionary-of-middle-eastern-cinema-t-ginsberg-c-lippard.pdf). Labaki herself said the film was well received partly because no filmmaking was going on in Lebanon at the time, and that the language she used, with its curse words and references to sexuality, was unheard of in Lebanese film[3](https://magazine.lau.edu.lb/documents/lau-magazine-vol12-issue3-fall2010.pdf). The film's success established Labaki internationally; she was named among the top ten directors at the [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival) listing, received the French order of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 2008, and went on to direct *[Where Do We Go Now?](https://www.edgepedia.org/where-do-we-go-now)* in 2010[5](https://asjp.cerist.dz/en/downArticle/20/13/2/150411).\n\n## References\n\n1. [Caramel (Sukkar banat), Cineuropa film database](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/76801/)\n2. [Caramel review, Screen Daily (Geoffrey Macnab, 2007)](https://www.screendaily.com/caramel/4036267.article)\n3. [Is Lebanese Cinema Defined by the War? LAU Magazine, Fall 2010](https://magazine.lau.edu.lb/documents/lau-magazine-vol12-issue3-fall2010.pdf)\n4. [Caramel review, Eye for Film (Jennie Kermode, 2008)](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/caramel-film-review-by-jennie-kermode)\n5. [Article on Nadine Labaki and Sukkar Banat, ASJP academic journal (Arabic)](https://asjp.cerist.dz/en/downArticle/20/13/2/150411)\n6. [Caramel, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caramel)\n7. [Caramel critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/caramel/critic-reviews/)\n8. [Caramel (2007) ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0825236/ratings/)\n9. [Nadine Labaki biography, Festival de Cannes](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/75681.pdf)\n10. [Momentum takes UK rights to Labaki's Cannes hit Caramel, Screen Daily (2007)](https://www.screendaily.com/momentum-takes-uk-rights-to-labakis-cannes-hit-caramel/4033087.article)\n11. [سكر بنات ثورة نادين لبكي ضد حرب لبنان, Assahraa (Arabic, 2007)](https://assahraa.ma/journal/2007/50242)\n12. ['Caramel' is a sugar rush, The Christian Science Monitor (2008)](https://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/amphtml/The-Culture/Movies/2008/0201/p12s02-almo.html)\n13. [Critique : Caramel, Critikat (French, 2007)](https://www.critikat.com/actualite-cine/critique/caramel/)\n14. [Caramel (2007), MovieScore](https://www.moviescore.com/movie/caramel-%282007%29)\n15. [Breaking taboos in a very sweet way, Los Angeles Times (2008)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jan-27-ca-caramel27-story.html)\n16. [كتبوا في السينما: عرض سكر بنات في مصر, Cinematech Haddad (Arabic, 2008)](https://www.cinematechhaddad.com/Cinematech/WrightsInCinema/WrightInCinema_5481.HTM)\n17. [Caramel/Sukkar Banat and gender constructions, South African Journal of Art History](https://sajournalofarthistory.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/SAJAH_33_1.pdf)\n18. [Historical Dictionary of Middle Eastern Cinema (Ginsberg & Lippard, 2010)](https://analepsis.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2010-historical-dictionary-of-middle-eastern-cinema-t-ginsberg-c-lippard.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2007 to 2008 › Released in 2007*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/caramel-2007-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/caramel-2007-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Caramel (سكر بنات) (2007 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/caramel-2007-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Caramel (سكر بنات) (2007 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/caramel-2007-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/caramel-2007-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/caramel-2007-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Caramel (سكر بنات) (2007 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/caramel-2007-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Caramel is Nadine Labaki's 2007 French-Lebanese debut feature about five women around a Beirut beauty salon; it premiered at Cannes Directors' Fortnight, won three San Sebastian awards, and became Lebanon's Oscar candidate." }