Top 37 Quotes & Sayings by Nadine Labaki

Explore popular quotes and sayings by a Lebanese actress Nadine Labaki.

Last updated on December 21, 2024.

Nadine Labaki is a Lebanese actress, director and activist. Labaki first came into the spotlight as an actress in the early 2000s. Her film-making career began in 2007 after the release of her debut film, Caramel, which premiered at the Cannes 2007 Film Festival. She is known for demonstrating everyday aspects of Lebanese life and covering a range of political issues such as war, poverty, and feminism. She is the first female Arab director to be nominated for an Oscar in the category for Best Foreign Language Film.

Lebanese - Actress | Born: February 18, 1974

Source: Wikipedia

When I was a kid, I used to spend a lot of time at home because of the war. We couldn't go out and play or go to school. Boredom was a big part of my life.

Nadine Labaki

Beirut turned into a war zone in a matter of hours. We were stuck at home, the roads were blocked.

Nadine Labaki

I was watching TV and saw people with masks, weapons, and grenades. I thought, Is that really possible? Could we be here yet again? And go into civil war one more time?

Nadine Labaki

I like to believe that my actors are not acting. That whatever they are doing, or whatever has been said, would happen in real life.

Nadine Labaki

A small film from a small country, in Arabic with nonprofessionals: It was practically impossible. Just to make it was like a dream to me.

Nadine Labaki

Lebanon is not only burning buildings and people crying in the street. When you say 'Lebanon,' especially to foreigners, that's the first thing they think of.

Nadine Labaki

It's only normal for me to work with my family because I think they are talented and because there's a warmth when I'm working. As a filmmaker, sometimes you are very fragile. You are in a very fragile situation most of the time. I think it's important to be surrounded by people you just get along with.

Nadine Labaki

Films can make you dream. They allow you to imagine a different world. It's why I decided to become a filmmaker. I wanted that even though it seemed impossible.

Nadine Labaki

I don't like to be feared, and I can't work in conflict, I'm very bad with conflict. I try to avoid it, it paralyzes me.

Nadine Labaki

I like to express myself fully with my body, with my language, with my voice, and through directing.

Nadine Labaki

I was lucky because I used to live right next to a video-rental store. I used to spend so much time watching films. So I've seen a lot. I used to watch 'Dynasty' and 'Dallas' and have seen every kind of film. I've been influenced by everything I've seen.

Nadine Labaki

When people say to me, 'You make us proud,' it's heartwarming to hear that.

Nadine Labaki

I believe everybody can make a change in the world.

Nadine Labaki

I'm just someone who observes a lot.

Nadine Labaki

I've seen so many women in my family, so many mothers, that have lost children in the war in such absurd ways. I wonder how they do it. How do they keep living? How do they keep smiling?

Nadine Labaki

Cinema is not only about making people dream. It's about changing things and making people think.

Nadine Labaki

Movements like Time's Up and #MeToo are putting the problems out there and creating conversations about the issues, and that's really how the healing process starts.

Nadine Labaki

I am a woman. I definitely have a woman's perspective. I'm also a mother, and I think, because of that, I feel responsible to try and make a difference.

Nadine Labaki

Making movies is what I'm good at. Cinema is the means through which I can best express myself.

Nadine Labaki

I don't think I make 'Chick Flicks.'

Nadine Labaki

I've never felt that my job was difficult because I'm a woman. It's a difficult job regardless, and it's even more difficult in Lebanon because there's no film industry. There's no structure, funding, or institutions for filmmakers.

Nadine Labaki

Religion is a very delicate subject in Lebanon. You have to know how to say things in a very delicate way in order to be accepted.

Nadine Labaki

It's very important to me to understand myself and my place in the world. My films help me with that, and the more people see them, the more I am making a statement.

Nadine Labaki

I think of myself more as a director than as an actress. But I do like to perform and express myself in different ways, and I'll keep on doing so, provided I can find interesting roles.

Nadine Labaki

I like to have the impression that whatever is happening is true.

Nadine Labaki

I have learned to do what I want without hurting anyone. I've learned how to get away with it, with everything. I'm getting away with what I'm trying to do on film but also in my own way.

Nadine Labaki

I thought if my son was now eighteen years old and he was tempted to join the fight and take the burden of protecting his family - because it's always tempting especially for young men - what would I do as a mother to stop him?

Nadine Labaki

I don't like to work with people I don't have any connection with.

Nadine Labaki

I think you owe it to yourself and you owe it to your status as an artist to be true to who you are.

Nadine Labaki

I always felt that anything is possible.

Nadine Labaki

Critics' points of view can be one thing today and be very different in a few years.

Nadine Labaki

Self-censorship has become a part of me. I think because we live in a place where community is very important, family is very important, you feel the weight of how people look at you. Even though I might seem very modern and very liberated, I still have a lot of issues to deal with. I'm scared of how people look at me.

Nadine Labaki

When you show people on the big screen that could be our next-door neighbour or our cousin, it does have an impact on our lives.

Nadine Labaki

I want to keep talking about my people and my country in my own language.

Nadine Labaki

It's a different point of view on the world and it's different issues and it's important. It's healthy to have both, and more and more women are becoming of aware of that. And when you are aware of how strong of an impact it has on people - it changes things.

Nadine Labaki

There are a lot of female directors in Lebanon but we can't really talk about a true film industry, it's still very small. But we do have a few female directors.

Nadine Labaki

I think the first film you do with your instincts because you haven't learned with another director or you haven't worked on other films, so you tend to do things your own way. I think what I learned the most was to take your time, to try to be less rushed into things and have some distance with what you're doing.

Nadine Labaki

Top 37 Quotes & Sayings by Nadine Labaki

Related Authors