Joseph Shamoun

Palestine, 1948. After the withdrawal of the British occupiers, tensions rise between Arabs and Jews. Meanwhile, Farha, the smart daughter of the mayor of a small village, unaware of the coming tragedy, dreams of going to study in the big city.

Zahra, who is in the last trimester of pregnancy, works as a machinist in a vast clothing factory. Her wages are barely enough to live day to day; her husband went away looking for work and she has no idea where he is. When she is told that she must have her baby delivered by Caesarean, she has no idea how she will pay for it. Then a snippet of discussion on the radio suggests to her a desperate plan to save herself and her baby. An exceptionally well-made slice of social realism about a world where it’s every woman for herself.