On April 21, 2021 at 5:00 PM, the SWANA Working Group will host its fifth conversations in the Difficult Conversation Series, focusing on gender and sexuality. RSVP at bit.ly/swanadifficultconversations.

On April 21, 2021 at 6:00 PM, the SWANA Working Group will follow up the conversation with a screening of the Lebanese film, Caramel. While many of Lebanon's films deal with the political conflict, Nadine Labaki's 2007, Cannes Film Festival debut, "Caramel," deals with issues far beyond that. Caramel focuses on the lives of five Lebanese women dealing with issues such as forbidden love, binding traditions, repressed sexuality, the struggle to accept the natural process of age, and duty versus desire. The film is unique for not showcasing a war-ravaged Beirut but rather a warm and inviting locale where people deal with universal issues.

The title Caramel refers to an epilation method that consists of heating sugar, water and lemon juice. Labaki also symbolically implies the "idea of sweet and salt, sweet and sour" and showcases that everyday relations can sometimes be sticky but ultimately the sisterhood shared between the central female characters prevails.