DUBAI: And the winner might be… Lebanon.
For the first time ever a Lebanese film has been nominated for an Oscars Academy Award.
Ziad Doueri’s “The Insult” has made it through to the final five in the Foreign Language Film category of the Academy Awards 2018, up against films from Chile, Russia, Hungary and Sweden.
“The Insult” (“L’Insulte”) is a tense Beirut-set courtroom thriller starring Adel Karam, Kamel El Basha and Camille Salameh. It is about an insult being blown out of all proportion, resulting in a Lebanese Christian and a Palestinian refugee battling it out in court.
The film, which picked up the Best Actor award for El Basha at the Venice Film Festival, was the 14th film to be submitted to the Oscars by Lebanon since 1978, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Other notable titles include Nadine Labaki’s 2011 drama “Where Do We Go Now?” that was widely expected to be nominated.
The nomination is remarkable considering the furor that erupted in Lebanon surrounding “The Insult,” including a boycott campaign launched against the film due to Doueri’s previous feature film, “The Attack,” having partly been filmed in Israel. Doueri was convinced “The Insult” wouldn’t even get released in Lebanon, he told The Hollywood Reporter.
The four other films rounding out the Foreign Language Film category of the oscars are “A Fantastic Woman” (Chile), “Loveless” (Russia), “On Body and Soul” (Hungary), and “The Square” (Sweden).
The Oscars Academy Awards 2018 takes place on Mar. 4 in Los Angeles.
Lebanon heads to the Oscars for the first time with “The Insult” nomination
Lebanon heads to the Oscars for the first time with “The Insult” nomination
Viral phenomenon in Argentina has young people identifying themselves as animals
- As the movement gains traction, psychologists are stepping in to analyze the phenomenon and its place in public discourse
BUENOS AIRES: On a recent Sunday, a Buenos Aires plaza transformed into a makeshift wilderness for an unusual group of teenagers.
Sofía, wearing a lifelike beagle mask, ran across the grass on all fours. Nearby, 15-year-old Aguara leapt through the air, clearing an obstacle course while imitating the precise movements of a Belgian breed dog. Others dressed as cats and foxes perched in the branches of trees, keeping their distance from curious onlookers.
It was the latest gathering of “therians,” individuals who say they identify mentally, spiritually or psychologically with non-human animals. The trend has taken over Argentine social media over the past few months, gaining traction on platforms like TikTok, where the hashtag #therian has surpassed 2 million posts, with Argentina leading all other Latin American countries in engagement. The surge has drawn the attention of influencers and media outlets alike, sparking reactions that range from laughter and bewilderment to outright anger.
And as the movement gains traction, psychologists are stepping in to analyze the phenomenon and its place in public discourse.
Aguara, who claims to identify as a Belgian Malinois and counts her age as the equivalent of two years and two months in dog years, says she’s a lot like any other teenager.
“I wake up like a normal person and live my life like a normal person,” she said. “I simply have moments when I like being a dog.”
As the leader of what she calls her “pack,” Aguara — the name she identifies with — boasts more than 125,000 followers on TikTok and coordinates regular meetups around the Argentine capital.
Aru, a 16-year-old who wore a seal mask to the park meetup, said she considers herself part of the “otherpaw” branch of therians: individuals who wear masks and tails or move on all fours just for fun. “It’s not necessarily about identifying as an animal,” she said.
She reckons the therian trend took off in Argentina because of the country’s “fairly free” environment. For other young Argentines, the movement has provided a vital community where they can feel truly accepted.
Should parents be worried?
Débora Pedace, a psychologist and director of the Integral Therapeutic Center in Buenos Aires, acknowledged that the phenomenon generates a complex mix of confusion, laughter and even anger.
“From a psychological standpoint, this is a symbolic identification with an animal,” Pedace said. “It becomes pathological or alarming only when it turns into a deeply rooted belief and the person fully assumes the role of an animal, potentially leading to self-harm or hurting others.”
