ABOUT THE FILM

LOGLINE

On the outskirts of Beirut, Lilas and Shery, co-founders and guitarists of the Middle East’s first all-female metal band, wrestle with friendship, sexuality, and destruction in their pursuit of becoming thrash metal rock stars.

LONG SYNOPSIS

Headstrong 23-year-old guitarist Lilas Mayassi lives with her mom and younger brother on the outskirts of Beirut. By day, Lilas teaches music to kids. By night, she’s trying to keep her thrash metal band together. And she’s secretly falling for a young woman living across the border in Syria.

Growing up in the shadow of their parents’ civil war, Lilas and her bandmates, Shery, Maya, Alma, and Tatiana (Slave to Sirens), have big dreams but few opportunities. After being discovered in a major music magazine, the Sirens get invited to the UK to play Glastonbury, the world’s largest music festival. But the show isn’t a life-changer and Lilas comes home to Lebanon on the brink of collapse. She starts taking her frustrations out on her band, specifically Shery, the enigmatic co-founder and lead guitarist with whom Lilas shares a hushed past.

As the revolution takes a turn and Beirut ignites into flames, the complicated friendship between Lilas and Shery begins to fracture. Suddenly, Shery quits the band and they are left without their lead guitarist. With the future of her band, her country, and her dreams now at stake, Lilas faces a crossroad. She must decide what kind of leader she will be, not only for her band, but also as a young woman struggling to define herself in Lebanon, a region of the Middle East as complex as each of the Sirens themselves.

Director Rita Baghdadi

Producers Rita Baghdadi, Camilla Hall

Executive Producers Danielle Renfrew Behrens, Natasha Lyonne, Maya Rudolph, Cindy Holland, John Boccardo, Derek Esplin, Kathryn Everett, Bryn Mooser, Dave Pell

Co-Producer Tatiana El Dahdah

Editor Grace Zahrah

Director of Photography Rita Baghdadi

Sound Tatiana El Dahdah

Music Para One

Featuring Lilas Mayassi, Shery Bechara, Maya Khairallah, Alma Doumani, Tatyana Boughaba

FESTIVALS
2022: Sundance (World Premiere)

AWARDS
Paul D. Lerner and Stephen Reis Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding Documentary Feature (Outfest)

AVAILABLE TERRITORIES
None; North America: Oscilloscope; International: Autlook

EXHIBITION FORMATS
DCP, Digital Download