{ "id": "epddgcgrp5", "slug": "ghadi", "title": "Ghadi (غدي)", "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-2013-to-2014", "label": "Comedies of 2013 to 2014", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014.alpha-symbols-to-i", "label": "Titles symbols to I", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014.alpha-symbols-to-i" } ], "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": "Ghadi (غدي) is a 2013 Lebanese comedy-drama directed by Amin Dora, written by and starring Georges Khabbaz, about a father who convinces his village his Down-syndrome son is an angel; Lebanon's 86th Academy Awards entry.", "snippet": "Ghadi (غدي) is a 2013 Lebanese comedy-drama directed by Amin Dora, written by and starring Georges Khabbaz, about a father who convinces his village his Down-syndrome son is an angel; Lebanon's 86th Academy Awards entry.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014.alpha-symbols-to-i", "markdown": "# Ghadi (غدي)\n\n**Ghadi** (غدي) is a 2013 Lebanese comedy-drama film directed by Amin Dora, written by and starring Georges Khabbaz, about a village music teacher who convinces his neighbors that his son with [Down syndrome](https://www.edgepedia.org/down-syndrome) is an angel. The film runs 100 minutes, is spoken in Arabic, and was produced by Gabriel Chamoun for the Lebanese company The Talkies as a Lebanon–Qatar co-production with the support of the Doha Film Institute.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/247648/) • [2](https://www.berlinale-talents.de/bt/project/profile/153478) • [3](https://media.dohafilm.com/sites/default/files/prod/2025-04/GrantsCatalogue-DFI2013.pdf)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director / writer | Amin Dora's debut feature; screenplay by Georges Khabbaz, who also plays the lead role of Leba[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/247648/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghadi) |\n| Production | Lebanon–Qatar co-production; The Talkies, producer Gabriel Chamoun, with Doha Film Institute support[2](https://www.berlinale-talents.de/bt/project/profile/153478) • [3](https://media.dohafilm.com/sites/default/files/prod/2025-04/GrantsCatalogue-DFI2013.pdf) |\n| Release | October 31, 2013 in Lebanon; worldwide gross $668,770, all from international markets[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2552296/) |\n| Oscar entry | Selected as Lebanon's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards[6](https://www.ghadithemovie.com/) |\n| Principal awards | KNN Audience Choice at Busan 2014; two Audience Awards at Mannheim-Heidelberg 2014; Best Director at Malmö Arab Film Festival 2015[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2552296/awards/) • [2](https://www.berlinale-talents.de/bt/project/profile/153478) |\n| Audience rating | 7.3/10 on IMDb from about 1,300 votes[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2552296/ratings/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nThe story is set in El Mshakkal, a fictional Christian village in a traditional Lebanese coastal town, where nearly every man bears some variant of the name Elias.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghadi) • [9](https://www.executive-magazine.com/economics-policy/ghadi-film-lebanon) The film is told through flashbacks narrated by Leba (Georges Khabbaz), the village music teacher. As a boy, Leba stuttered and was mocked by his schoolmates until the pianist Mr. Fawzi (Antoine Moultaka) arrived and helped him overcome the impediment through music lessons.[10](https://stg-blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2016/05/18/the-screening-room-a-review-of-the-lebanese-film-ghadi/) • [6](https://www.ghadithemovie.com/)\n\nAs an adult, Leba marries his childhood sweetheart Lara (Lara Rain). After two daughters, the couple has a son, Ghadi (Emmanuel Khairallah), who is born with Down syndrome. Ghadi sits at an open window overlooking the town and makes loud, uncontrollable noises, and the villagers eventually petition to have the boy institutionalized or the family expelled from the village.[6](https://www.ghadithemovie.com/) • [9](https://www.executive-magazine.com/economics-policy/ghadi-film-lebanon)\n\n**The angel scheme.** Leba refuses to send his son away and instead turns the villagers' superstition against them. With a small team of helpers, he records church choirs singing hymns and broadcasts them through loudspeakers placed around the neighborhood, presenting the sound as Ghadi's inner voice, which addresses each villager by name and comments on his or her behavior. The town comes to believe Ghadi is an angel who wails when someone sins, and rumors spread that the angel can also make wishes come true.[11](https://www.alraimedia.com/article/451510/%D9%81%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86/%D8%BA%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D9%83%D9%85-%D9%83%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%A9) • [9](https://www.executive-magazine.com/economics-policy/ghadi-film-lebanon) When villagers pass their prayers on to Ghadi, Leba and his helpers quietly work to answer them, taking out loans and pulling strings behind the scenes.[12](https://sajjeling.com/2015/08/16/the-faithful-fall-for-anything-in-lebanese-movie-ghadi/)\n\n## Production\n\nKhabbaz, a well-known Lebanese theater actor and playwright, drew the idea from five years of work with children of the association Acsauvel, which cares for people with intellectual disabilities; he said he saw that this group was marginalized and treated with either pity or condescension, both damaging to the person's morale. He wrote the story over a full year.[13](https://www.almodon.com/culture/2013/09/20/%D8%BA%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%88%D9%91%D9%82-%D8%A3%D9%85-%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%9F)\n\nEleven-year-old Emmanuel Khairallah, chosen from Lebanon's Sesobel association for disabled children, was cast as Ghadi. Director Amin Dora said he kept returning to the boy's pictures during casting because \"he looks like an angel.\"[9](https://www.executive-magazine.com/economics-policy/ghadi-film-lebanon) The supporting cast includes Camille Salameh as the barber, Rodrigue Sleiman as Gerard, Mona Tayeh, and Christine Choueiri.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghadi)\n\nThe film was shot in and around Batroun, chosen by Dora as an ideal traditional village untouched by modern development.[14](https://s3.amazonaws.com/filmarabi/FilmArabi_CaseStudy_AminDora_Ghadi_091018.pdf) Karim Ghorayeb was the cinematographer and Nadim Mishlawi the composer; the score incorporates several Mozart compositions.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/247648/) • [6](https://www.ghadithemovie.com/) Producer Gabriel Chamoun described the film's theme as \"accepting people that are different,\" and the production treated \"production values\" as a stated aim: the shoot lasted 46 days, whereas most Lebanese productions take no more than 35.[9](https://www.executive-magazine.com/economics-policy/ghadi-film-lebanon) • [15](https://www.institutdesfinances.gov.lb/sites/default/files/2024-06/2019DW-Proposal.pdf)\n\n## Release and box office\n\nGhadi opened in Lebanese theaters on October 31, 2013.[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2552296/) It earned $579,164 in Lebanon, ranking 75th in that market, with additional runs in Spain ($66,572), the [United Arab Emirates](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-arab-emirates) ($19,457), and Poland ($3,577); a 2015 re-release added $89,606 for a worldwide total of $668,770.[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2552296/) Chamoun later cited two commercial setbacks: the film's failure to reach the French market, and the bankruptcy of the sales agent Fortissimo Films during distribution.[15](https://www.institutdesfinances.gov.lb/sites/default/files/2024-06/2019DW-Proposal.pdf) The film began streaming on March 10, 2017, and has been available on Prime Video, Apple TV, and Netflix.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghadi) • [16](https://www.netflix.com/gg/title/80019593)\n\n## Oscar entry\n\nGhadi was selected as Lebanon's entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards.[6](https://www.ghadithemovie.com/) Sources differ on what happened next. The Lebanese Examiner reported in October 2014 that the film, originally selected the previous year, had been delayed to the following award cycle because it missed eligibility dates, and that it would compete against 80 other entries.[17](https://lebaneseexaminer.com/2014/10/28/lebanese-film-ghadi-vying-oscar-nomination/) The newspaper Al-Rai reported instead that the film was withdrawn because the required prior public screening had not taken place and was replaced by Lara Saba's *Qissat Thawani*, which was eliminated in the first round of 76 films.[11](https://www.alraimedia.com/article/451510/%D9%81%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86/%D8%BA%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D9%83%D9%85-%D9%83%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%A9) Lebanon has submitted films for the category since 1978 without receiving a nomination.[17](https://lebaneseexaminer.com/2014/10/28/lebanese-film-ghadi-vying-oscar-nomination/)\n\n## Reception\n\nCritical response was favorable. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a Tomatometer score of 76 percent from three reviews.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghadi) Justin Chang, reviewing for Variety at Busan, called it \"a sly and absorbing comedy\" whose appeal to Arab viewers never undercuts its broader reach, and praised Khabbaz's subdued performance and Ghorayeb's cinematography.[6](https://www.ghadithemovie.com/) Elizabeth Kerr of The Hollywood Reporter described \"Dora's extremely gentle satire about bigotry, redemption, faith and acceptance\" as having the sweetness needed to carry its premise.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghadi)\n\nThe film won the KNN Audience Choice Award at the Busan International Film Festival in 2014, two Audience Awards (International [Competition](https://www.edgepedia.org/competition) and International Discovery) at the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Filmfestival in 2014, and Best Director for Dora in the Feature Film Competition at the Malmö Arab Film Festival in 2015; it was also nominated for the New Currents Award at Busan and for prizes at the Skip City and Minneapolis St. Paul festivals.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2552296/awards/) • [2](https://www.berlinale-talents.de/bt/project/profile/153478)\n\n## Themes\n\nCommentators read the film as social satire aimed at religious gullibility and community attitudes toward intellectual disability, a topic the writer Jennine Abdul Khalik described as largely unaddressed in broader Arab society. The film portrays the villagers' faith as transactional, since Ghadi matters to them only while he promises something, and it also touches on sexism, interfaith marriage, and the pressure on women to bear sons.[12](https://sajjeling.com/2015/08/16/the-faithful-fall-for-anything-in-lebanese-movie-ghadi/) Khabbaz said he intended the village as a miniature of Lebanon with its contradictions, including ethnic, religious, sectarian, and sexual difference, and that he made Ghadi \"the voice of conscience\" whispering to the viewer to accept him as a partner in life.[13](https://www.almodon.com/culture/2013/09/20/%D8%BA%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%88%D9%91%D9%82-%D8%A3%D9%85-%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%9F)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Ghadi, Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/247648/)\n2. [Ghadi, Berlinale Talents project profile](https://www.berlinale-talents.de/bt/project/profile/153478)\n3. [Doha Film Institute Grants Catalogue, Post-Production Spring 2013](https://media.dohafilm.com/sites/default/files/prod/2025-04/GrantsCatalogue-DFI2013.pdf)\n4. [Ghadi, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghadi)\n5. [Ghadi (2013), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2552296/)\n6. [Ghadi The Movie (official site, archived)](https://www.ghadithemovie.com/)\n7. [Ghadi (2013) Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2552296/awards/)\n8. [Ghadi (2013) Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2552296/ratings/)\n9. [Behind Lebanon's newest film, Executive Magazine (October 8, 2013)](https://www.executive-magazine.com/economics-policy/ghadi-film-lebanon)\n10. [The Screening Room: a review of the Lebanese film Ghadi, BMJ Medical Humanities (May 18, 2016)](https://stg-blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2016/05/18/the-screening-room-a-review-of-the-lebanese-film-ghadi/)\n11. [«غدي»... كمّ كبير من المعاني الإنسانية والشفافية, Al-Rai (October 28, 2013)](https://www.alraimedia.com/article/451510/%D9%81%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86/%D8%BA%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D9%83%D9%85-%D9%83%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%A9)\n12. [The faithful fall for anything in Lebanese movie Ghadi, Sajjeling (August 16, 2015)](https://sajjeling.com/2015/08/16/the-faithful-fall-for-anything-in-lebanese-movie-ghadi/)\n13. [\"غدي\": معوّق أم قديس؟, Al-Modon (September 20, 2013)](https://www.almodon.com/culture/2013/09/20/%D8%BA%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%88%D9%91%D9%82-%D8%A3%D9%85-%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%9F)\n14. [FilmArabi case study: Amin Dora, Ghadi](https://s3.amazonaws.com/filmarabi/FilmArabi_CaseStudy_AminDora_Ghadi_091018.pdf)\n15. [Institut des Finances Basil Fuleihan, 2019 working paper on Lebanese film financing](https://www.institutdesfinances.gov.lb/sites/default/files/2024-06/2019DW-Proposal.pdf)\n16. [Watch Ghadi, Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/gg/title/80019593)\n17. [Lebanese film \"Ghadi\" vying for Oscar nomination, Lebanese Examiner (October 28, 2014)](https://lebaneseexaminer.com/2014/10/28/lebanese-film-ghadi-vying-oscar-nomination/)\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 2013 to 2014 › Titles symbols to I*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: 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/ghadi", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/ghadi.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": "\"Ghadi (غدي)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/ghadi. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Ghadi (غدي)](https://www.edgepedia.org/ghadi)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/ghadi](https://www.edgepedia.org/ghadi). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Ghadi (غدي)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/ghadi. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Ghadi is a 2013 Lebanese comedy-drama directed by Amin Dora, written by and starring Georges Khabbaz, about a father who convinces his village his Down-syndrome son is an angel; Lebanon's 86th Academy Awards entry." }