Nadine Labaki attracts buyer buzz with debut feature Caramel

Nadine Labaki shot Caramel - now attracting buyer buzz in Cannes after its Directors Fortnight debut -- in Beirut in late spring 2006, when the troubled city was in buoyant mood following the departure of the Syrian army. 'The timing was so fortuitous, something of a miracle,' says producer Anne-Dominique Toussaint. A week after the wrap party, Israeli bombers were overhead. With the airport besieged, it was September before Labaki could begin post-production in Paris.