Vatche Boulghourjian

Rabih, a young blind man, lives in a small village in Lebanon. He sings in a choir and edits Braille documents for an income. His life unravels when he tries to apply for a passport and discovers that his identification card, which he has carried his entire life, is fake. Now he must travel across Lebanon in search of his identity.

In a land unraveling after years of collapse, Joyce—one of few archaeologists still working in Lebanon—finds her own foundations fracturing. The losses and estrangements in her life have undermined her certainties, leaving her struggling to make sense of a new reality. When a sprawling cave is uncovered in an ancient necropolis, Joyce is sent to survey the site. In the borderlands, she hires Suha, a 19-year-old villager, to assist her. Suha’s natural aptitude revives Joyce’s sense of purpose. As she gradually takes to mentoring the young woman, Joyce is pulled into the tangled politics of the village and entwined with the darker forces shaping Suha’s world. Tensions escalate, reshaping their fragile bond and altering the course of both their lives.

Rabih, a young blind man, lives in a small village in Lebanon. He sings in a choir and edits Braille documents for an income. His life unravels when he tries to apply for a passport and discovers that his identification card, which he has carried his entire life, is fake. Now he must travel across Lebanon in search of his identity.

Rabih, a young blind man, lives in a small village in Lebanon. He sings in a choir and edits Braille documents for an income. His life unravels when he tries to apply for a passport and discovers that his identification card, which he has carried his entire life, is fake. Now he must travel across Lebanon in search of his identity.

In a land unraveling after years of collapse, Joyce—one of few archaeologists still working in Lebanon—finds her own foundations fracturing. The losses and estrangements in her life have undermined her certainties, leaving her struggling to make sense of a new reality. When a sprawling cave is uncovered in an ancient necropolis, Joyce is sent to survey the site. In the borderlands, she hires Suha, a 19-year-old villager, to assist her. Suha’s natural aptitude revives Joyce’s sense of purpose. As she gradually takes to mentoring the young woman, Joyce is pulled into the tangled politics of the village and entwined with the darker forces shaping Suha’s world. Tensions escalate, reshaping their fragile bond and altering the course of both their lives.