Charbel Premieres in Beirut; Lebanese Cinema Release Set for October 22

Charbel, the new feature film about Saint Charbel, held its special premiere on October 9 at BlackBox in Beirut Media Zone, according to Nidaa al-Watan's October 10 report. The film is a joint NMPRO and MTV production, directed by Nadim Mehanna and written by Claudia Marshalian, with Jerry Ghazal playing the young Charbel and Father Roukoz El Hajj portraying him later in life. Cinemacity lists a runtime of 130 minutes.

Lebtalks reported that the October 9 launch was under President Joseph Aoun's patronage and would be broadcast on MTV, with a nationwide Lebanese theatrical rollout planned from October 22. Cinemacity Beirut independently lists Thursday, October 22 as its opening date. Its page still has no screening sessions scheduled. The completed premiere and the upcoming public cinema opening are different milestones.

A separate charity screening in support of Anta Akhi is scheduled for October 12 at ABC Achrafieh. International release dates, streaming distribution and English-language availability remain unconfirmed. L'Orient-Le Jour: October 12 charity screening for Anta Akhi (October 8, French)

Nidaa al-Watan: premiere report and interview with Nadim Mehanna (October 10, Arabic)
Lebtalks: launch, patronage, MTV broadcast and planned Lebanese release (October 9, Arabic)
Cinemacity Beirut: October 22 opening listing

Watch the Film Trailer and Premiere Coverage

NMPRO Arts: official Charbel film trailer, in Arabic, 2 minutes 25 seconds. This is a trailer, not a recording of the premiere. Watch the official trailer on YouTube

Watch MTV's October 9 premiere coverage. MTV's launch report includes an attached video from the premiere. A YouTube recording of the premiere has not yet been verified.