Film 2019
Scales
A girl challenges a fishing village’s demand that daughters be given to the sea.
- Country collection
- Saudi Arabia
- Original title
- سيدة البحر
- Director
- Shahad Ameen
- Year
- 2019
Editorial profile. Availability on LAREINE TV has not been confirmed.
Story, without spoilers
Hayat grows up apart from her community after her father refuses to surrender her to the sea creatures on which the village’s survival depends. His decision saves her, but marks her as an outsider. When a new child arrives in the family, pressure returns, forcing Hayat to confront a custom that denies her a future.
Context & recognition
Shahad Ameen’s first feature is a black-and-white fable drawing on the fantastic. The Saudi, Emirati and Iraqi coproduction screened in competition at Venice Critics’ Week in 2019.
Main characters
Hayat
The girl who resists the fate imposed on her.
Hayat’s father
The parent whose refusal disrupts the village’s ritual.
Cast
- Basima Hajjar
- Yagoub Alfarhan
- Ashraf Barhoum