JAMILA

By Julia FREIJ

2315 JAMILA - as PROD

Drama - Completed 2023

While reluctantly preparing at a beauty salon for a wedding, a Palestinian American teenager clashes with her family members, challenging her assumptions about culture and femininity.

Festivals
& Awards

El Gouna Film Festival 2023
    • Year of production
    • 2023
    • Genres
    • Drama, Female director
    • Countries
    • USA
    • Languages
    • ENGLISH, ENGLISH-UNITED STATES, ARABIC
    • Budget
    • N/A
    • Duration
    • 15 mn
    • Director(s)
    • Julia FREIJ
    • Writer(s)
    • Julia FREIJ, Meg DUDLEY
    • Producer(s)
    • Peri MICHAEL
    • Synopsis
    • In this coming of age drama set in the mid-2000s, NOUR, 16, a Palestinian American girl, must rediscover her multicultural identity after years of repressing her background and growing up among western standards of beauty. Nour visits Palestine to attend a family wedding, meeting some of her relatives for the first time. On the morning of the ceremony, she begrudgingly accompanies her aunties to the salon to get ready. Guided by her aunt MONA who resents Nour's single father for leaving, Nour is overwhelmed among the new and eclectic mix of family members. She soon finds role models in her female relatives, who inspire her to embrace herself. In one morning, Nour navigates culture and belonging, finally accepting herself and her identity.