The Libertom Foundation for Cultural Diplomacy has announced that Lebanese director Nadine Labaki will receive the 2026 Libertom Pioneers Award in recognition of her cinematic career and her contribution to bringing stories from Lebanon and the Middle East to global audiences. She will be honored in Venice alongside Serbian artist Marina Abramović and American director Lee Daniels.
The awards ceremony will be held on 6 and 7 September as part of the inaugural edition of “Libertom for Art and Cinema,” organized by the foundation alongside the Venice Film Festival to mark the 25th anniversary of its founding.
Labaki’s cinematic career
The foundation said Labaki’s films have presented the region’s stories from the perspective of their protagonists, combining observation of reality with storytelling craftsmanship. In her work, the director has addressed social and humanitarian issues, including displacement, poverty and conflict, through the experiences and stories of her characters.
Labaki’s films have presented the region’s stories from the perspective of their protagonists, combining observation of reality with storytelling craftsmanship.
Labaki’s career includes a number of prominent films, including “Where Do We Go Now?” released in 2011 and “Capernaum” released in 2018. Both films premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. “Capernaum” won the Jury Prize at Cannes and was also nominated for an Oscar in the Best International Feature Film category.
Labaki began her career as a film director in 2007 with “Caramel,” which was screened at Cannes. From the outset, she focused on the details of daily life in Lebanon, alongside themes of war, poverty and feminism.
Honoring Daniels and Abramović
The honor will also go to American director Lee Daniels, whose selection, the foundation said, reflects his ability to address Black lives, psychological trauma and family with boldness and bring these issues to a broad audience without diluting their substance. It added that his work has created space within the entertainment industry for stories previously considered difficult to market commercially.
Serbian artist Marina Abramović will receive the award in recognition of her role in developing performance art and expanding its expressive boundaries. Among her best-known works is “The Artist Is Present,” from 2010, during which she sat silently at a table for more than 700 hours over nearly three months, inviting exhibition visitors to sit opposite her and maintain eye contact.
Celebrating challenges to established norms
Libertom said the selection of the winners celebrates works that challenged established norms and broadened the horizons of artistic expression, while also underscoring the importance of preserving human dignity.
The Pioneers Awards are presented as part of the foundation’s programs, established by Pablo Ganguli. Previous recipients have included figures from the arts and culture, among them actress Angela Bassett, Brazilian anthropologist Ivete Sacramento and actress Ellen Burstyn, who was honored during the Venice Film Festival in 2024.
