Sabah
Qumra Projects
/ Feature Narrative / Qatar
Rated: This film has not been rated.
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Synopsis
After a conservative Twitter campaign shuts down a high school play for its satirical content, a rebellious Qatari teenager directs her fellow drama students to broadcast their controversial performance live across social media.
When a Doha High School is attacked on social media for publicising a controversial play, headmaster Mr. Harrelson decides to ban the performance. Unfortunately for him, this play has been written and directed by self-styled “Theatre-Punk” Maryam (16), a rebellious Qatari teenager who would rather die than see her theatrical vision destroyed. With her play cancelled, Maryam suffers a devastating anxiety attack that reignites her bipolar, self-harming behaviour. This play was the only thing keeping her depression under control amidst her parent’s impending divorce. Luckily for her, Maryam is surrounded by loving friends: her cast and crew (The Theatre Punks). In an act of creative defiance, they barricade the doors and windows of the school, and broadcast their play live on social media, ignoring all possible consequences. Life and art collapse into each other as Maryam attempts to control her mental illness just long enough to perform her masterpiece and change the world. Featuring astounding sets and costumes, Maryam’s avant-garde play depicts a manic future society of lost children and parents, searching for meaning amidst a sea of technology and mindless consumerism. But trouble is brewing outside in the carpark—the Twitter trolls have sent the
police and emergency forces to shut the whole thing down…