FLANA

Growing up in Baghdad, in the house of her aunt Hayat, Zahraa witnessed the harsh realities of violence against women that last to this day, as disappearances that still happen on a weekly basis. The disappearance of her childhood friend Nour sparked her quest for truth, driving her to navigate Iraq’s complex web of war and tribal laws. Borrowing its title from an Iraqi term for forgotten or anonymous women, the filmmaker's soft yet piercing gaze links past and present connecting with her elders and peers, encountering signs of the many girls who have vanished (through orphanages or through other, unspeakable means), navigating dark corners of public and private spaces, and meditating on the trauma that generations of women are simultaneously experiencing. Accompanied by an unsettling score over unobtrusive camera work, this unique work shines a light on that which has long gone unseen and unspoken.