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Lebanon, USA202393 minArabic, English Canadian PremiereDirected By Women, Documentary, Drama, First Feature

Jude Chehab, a Lebanese American cinematographer and filmmaker, has always known her mother and grandmother to be women devoted to their Muslim faith. During a trip to Lebanon, Chehab is propelled by a curiosity to understand the quest for love, acceptance, and meaning that brought three generations of women in her family to pledge loyalty to a secretive matriarchal religious order operating clandestinely in the country.

Deftly balancing a delicate and determined approach to uncovering and documenting her family’s reflections, Chehab illuminates the unspoken ties and long-lasting consequences of loyalty that have not only bonded the women in her family, but left an unshakeable sense of longing and ostracization—for some, years after leaving the religious order. Utilizing incisive imagery and rich aural textures to evoke the sublime, Chehab asks us to question the line between love and devotion in this commanding and precisely crafted debut feature.

– Mariam Zaidi