Maia Malas

When The Shelves Hymn

After Mariam’s husband mysteriously disappears, she reluctantly takes their teenage son Saeed from their home in Jeddah to mountainous AIUla, intending to sell their family-owned antique shop. Saeed is sullenly resentful, detesting the move; Mariam struggles to stay in charge while she searches for the title documents she needs to make a sale. What she finds instead are unpaid bills, a video diary in which her husband confessed to severe depression and some newspaper clippings about suicide. It is a discovery that will change her outdated view of men’s role as she and her son together embrace a new, independent life.

The Last Dismissal

Aljadel, a grieving Saudi teenager, refuses to participate in a chant with her middle-school choir honouring her deceased best friend. Meanwhile, the power hungry Main Teacher, rejects their permission to chant and decides instead to order the students to participate in an activity to re-enact the shrouding the dead. When Aljadel watches her friend being shrouded, her anger boils over and she rises to action, leading the rest of the girls to do the same.

Every Day, Every Day

A diary documenting the life of a Syrian family in times when the revolution shifts into a civil war, and the dramatic circumstances they face when the oldest son is called to join the state army.