Doha Film Institute
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Suffocated by motherhood and her mundane life, Nadia’s life begins to slowly change when she finds herself sinking into her teenage son’s undiagnosed mental illness.
Nadia (40) is a wife and mother to three children. Through her seemingly perfect life, she struggles with her marriage and identity, which also causes her to be distant from her role as a mother. Nadia has a close friendship with her eldest son Basil (17), a high school senior known to be at the top of his class. He’s always been peculiar and antisocial. One day, Basil is triggered at school and gets into serious trouble, resulting in his suspension. Nadia is on the verge of burnout as she tries to find the energy to care for him in her own way, ensuring he focuses on his health and exams.

Things progress for the worse as she juggles between managing her own self-crisis and his dark, playful state of mind. Only to find herself slowly sinking into his undiagnosed mental illness while her denial of the truth about him grows further. As Basil’s mental health deteriorates, his manic and elated moods push his mother to experience beautiful feelings of liberation that she hasn’t felt in a very long time, prodding her to reconnect with herself. Soon, the situation begins to spin out of control.

Credits

Director
Zain Duraie
Screenwriter
Zain Duraie
Producer
Alaa Alasad
Production Company
Tabi360

About the Director

Zain Duraie
Zain Duraie is a Jordanian filmmaker and Screen International Arab Star of Tomorrow. Her short ‘Give Up The Ghost’ premiered at Venice and won Best Arab Short at El Gouna. Her debut feature ‘Sink’ (2025) premiered at TIFF and BFI London, winning the Ecumenical Jury Award at Mannheim and the Bronze Tanit at Carthage.
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