As Sakina (Islam Mubarak) and Alnoor (Talal Afifi) baptize their son Muzamil fate intervenes – a holy man faints, predicting the child will die when he turns 20. Mixing the mythical with the realistic to denounce the customs that destroy lives. Filmed with great mastery, the captivating rhythm fixates on expressions, dissecting feelings to explore the burden of tradition.
As a 19-year-old Muzamil grows ever closer to his birthday, what will submission in the face of destiny cost him? This powerful debut from director Amjad Abu Alala is sensitively observed, and is inspired by a short story by award-winning Sudanese writer Hammour Ziada.
The film arrives in Jeddah from the Venice International Film Festival, where it was awarded the coveted Lion of the Future/Luigi de Laurentiis Award for Best Debut Feature.