Rita Baghdadi: Sirens
”With jet-black hair, leather boots and an uncompromising sound, metal band Slave to Sirens smashes every obstacle to pave the way for other female musicians in Lebanon. In Rita Baghdadi’s instant Sundance audience favourite, we follow the band’s five young members as they struggle with music, each other and the unrest in the country. The overriding protagonists are the band’s biggest egos: the two headbanging guitarists who share a complicated past! Withexplosive chemistry and youthful stubbornness the five women play as loud and fast as they can for a brighter (or darker) future.”
That is the synopsis from cph:dox website. Inviting it is. I saw on my computer a film that has been to Sundance and many other festivals this year, including One World in Prague, where I heard members of the intl. jury talk positively about it. I managed to see it via the website of the Copenhagen festival and I can only echo what has been said: Talented interpretation of creators who have difficulties in fitting into a conservative society due to their sexual orientation, the music they play – and the emotional conflicts between Lilas and Chery. It’s all about catching the atmosphere of where the protagonists are and who they are. The film does that in a fragmented nervous rhythm – before and after the explosion that changed Beirut August 4 2020 and made people go to the streets.
Lebanon, USA, 2022, 78 mins.
