Shadows

Storyline

At a crowded airport, Ahlam, a 15-year old mother, is running away from Baghdad, the only place she's ever known. As she fights the shadows lurking around her, she reflects on her journey to reclaim her life.

About the film/director

Rand Beiruty is a writer, director and creative producer. She holds a practice-based Ph.D. from Film University Babelsberg, where her research focused on questions of representation and participatory filmmaking. Her debut feature Tell Them About Us premiered at CPH:DOX and won the 2025 German Documentary Film Award. Her animated short Shadows premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival and went on to screen at 100+ festivals, winning 20 awards.

FILMOGRAPHY:
2024 – Tell them about us – documentary – 92min
2024 – Shadows – Animated documentary – 11min

Director’s statement

I have a recurring nightmare where I’m running from a faceless man. When I plead for help, people either ignore me or call me crazy. These nightmares resonate because in many parts of the world, violence against women is socially normalized and even tolerated by the law. As I was writing this, a Jordanian woman named Ahlam was murdered by her father, who then calmly drank tea next to her dying body. Her name, Ahlam, means "dreams" in Arabic, the same name I chose for the protagonist of Shadows. Unlike the real Ahlam, our Ahlam is a survivor.
I met Ahlam while filming a documentary with teenage immigrant girls in Germany. She had run away from her family and was missing love and support. She wanted to share her story but became vulnerable while recounting her past. I stopped the camera, feeling it wasn’t right to film.
As an underage runaway and refugee, exposing Ahlam’s story posed ethical dilemmas, yet her strength compelled me. She was eager to speak, so I chose an animated documentary to present her story while protecting her vulnerability. Animation allowed us to recount her past and visualize her subjective point of view.
All over the world, domestic violence and child marriage are rarely discussed unless a tragedy occurs. I want to make Shadows to expose these injustices and pay tribute to Ahlam's courage, highlighting her refusal to let her circumstances define her life’s journey.

Credits

Director:

Rand Beiruty

Production:

Idris Lettifi, Jude Kawwa, Moussa Lettifi

Contact:

Rand Beiruty

E-Mail:

randbeiruty@gmail.com

• Jordan
• Arabic, German
• 2024
• 12 min