Caramel

Labaki directs, co-writes and leads this crackling ensemble piece set in Beirut. She plays Layale, a beauty-shop owner with a settled relationship at the centre of a medley of women with problems. But all is not as it seems: here 'caramel' is not just sweet, but a painful depilatory. And in the movie her settled relationship turns out to be with a man married to someone else. The friendship of the group of women is complicated by sectarian division - yet still manages to survive and thrive in such a cosmopolitan city. Even lesbianism, albeit subtly treated, has its moments.

NW England première – thanks to Momentum Pictures