DUBAI: Netflix has just dropped the trailer for “The Sand Castle,” a highly anticipated mystery thriller starring Lebanese multi-hyphenate Nadine Labaki, set to drop on the streaming platform on Jan. 24.
US Emmy-nominated director Matty Brown — whose shorts have won accolades — makes his feature film debut with “The Sand Castle.”
The film, which premiered at the Red Sea International Film Festival in December 2024, revolves around a family of four stranded on an island. The mother of the family, Yasmine, played by Labaki, is on the lookout for signs of a boat so that the family can escape the island. The father, Nabil, portrayed by Palestinian actor Ziad Bakri (“Meet the Barbarians”), tries to radio for help. The couple’s two children, Adam and Jana, are depicted by Labaki-directed “Capernaum” stars Zain and Riman Al-Rafeea.
“As events spiral out of control and the line between reality and fiction blurs, the family is forced to confront harsh truths and difficult choices, testing their resilience and their hopes of making it back home,” reads the official synopsis.
Brown co-wrote “Sand Castle” with Jordan’s Yassmina Karajah and Egyptian-Qatari writer-director Hend Fakhroo.
Meanwhile, Labaki had a busy 2024, serving as a jury member at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, alongside jury president Greta Gerwig.
Labaki, recipient of the Jury Prize at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival for “Capernaum,” shares a long history with the festival.
She began her relationship with Cannes in 2004, writing and developing her first feature, “Caramel,” at the Cinefoundation Residency before showcasing the film at the Director’s Fortnight in 2007. Both of Labaki’s subsequent films — “Where do We Go Now?” in 2011 and “Capernaum” in 2018 — debuted at the festival, each in increasingly competitive categories.
“I feel like I’m their baby, in a way. With a baby, you start watching their first steps, see them grow, protect them, push them … They’ve accompanied me in this journey and recognized and encouraged me. It’s great — I really love this festival. I think it’s the best festival in the world,” Labaki told Arab News in an earlier interview on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival in 2019.
