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This program highlights narratives from the Arab diaspora in the United States, exploring questions of belonging, culture, family, and generational identity.
Tensions rise at home when Salma's family braces for a visit from Lebanese relatives. After not having seen them in over 20 years, her mother and teta return to Middle Eastern traditions in order to impress. However, as a high school senior struggling with her own identity, Salma must choose between being the daughter her mother wants to present to them, and being herself.
Director Biography
Lara Bedewi is a first-generation Arab-American writer, director, and multimedia artist from Philadelphia whose films explore vulnerability and belonging through the lens of culture, ancestry, and community. Lara is a 2021 George and Rose B. Ashe Arts Scholarship recipient and was selected as a 2022 BlackStar Film Festival official screener. She is a 2023 Cinema & Television BIPOC Filmmaker Grant awardee and screened her film "To'oborni" in festivals, including SOHO International Film Festival, Lebanese Independent Film Festival, AFMI's Arab Film Festival, and more. Lara currently works as a digital content producer at Watermelon Pictures, a film label rooted in Palestinian culture and creativity, and recently wrapped filming on her latest experimental-narrative short film, titled "Daughters of the Fig." This is her first project under her new film label, ALBI Productions.
Director Statement
As an Arab-American woman with a mixed Palestinian, Lebanese, and Egyptian background, the experiences depicted min To'oborni are deeply personal for me. Having left everything to immigrate to America, my family made strong efforts to preserve their culture and values from back home. However, living in the States for many years created a rift across generations, leading the younger members of my family to lose reverence for some of these customs. Growing up, I often found myself at the center of this conflict, just as Salma has to choose whether to play into lost traditions for her mother’s sake, or stay true to herself.
To'oborni is one of those untranslatable phrases. In Arabic, it literally means “may you put my casket in the ground,”the subtext being, “so that I don’t have to live a single day on this earth without you”. Although it sounds somber, To’oborni is a beautiful expression of unconditional love that embodies complex family dynamics, both in this film and in my community.
This film portrays three generations of Arab women struggling with self-image, tradition, and reputation. My goal indirecting To’oborni was to color each role with nuance, carefully subverting the tropes found within our community that depict complex humans as one-note. Though we may be capable of inflicting hurt upon those dear to us in the name of love, we are also capable of profound compassion. That is at the heart of To’oborni.
This program highlights narratives from the Arab diaspora in the United States, exploring questions of belonging, culture, family, and generational identity.
Tensions rise at home when Salma's family braces for a visit from Lebanese relatives. After not having seen them in over 20 years, her mother and teta return to Middle Eastern traditions in order to impress. However, as a high school senior struggling with her own identity, Salma must choose between being the daughter her mother wants to present to them, and being herself.
Director Biography
Lara Bedewi is a first-generation Arab-American writer, director, and multimedia artist from Philadelphia whose films explore vulnerability and belonging through the lens of culture, ancestry, and community. Lara is a 2021 George and Rose B. Ashe Arts Scholarship recipient and was selected as a 2022 BlackStar Film Festival official screener. She is a 2023 Cinema & Television BIPOC Filmmaker Grant awardee and screened her film "To'oborni" in festivals, including SOHO International Film Festival, Lebanese Independent Film Festival, AFMI's Arab Film Festival, and more. Lara currently works as a digital content producer at Watermelon Pictures, a film label rooted in Palestinian culture and creativity, and recently wrapped filming on her latest experimental-narrative short film, titled "Daughters of the Fig." This is her first project under her new film label, ALBI Productions.
Director Statement
As an Arab-American woman with a mixed Palestinian, Lebanese, and Egyptian background, the experiences depicted min To'oborni are deeply personal for me. Having left everything to immigrate to America, my family made strong efforts to preserve their culture and values from back home. However, living in the States for many years created a rift across generations, leading the younger members of my family to lose reverence for some of these customs. Growing up, I often found myself at the center of this conflict, just as Salma has to choose whether to play into lost traditions for her mother’s sake, or stay true to herself.
To'oborni is one of those untranslatable phrases. In Arabic, it literally means “may you put my casket in the ground,”the subtext being, “so that I don’t have to live a single day on this earth without you”. Although it sounds somber, To’oborni is a beautiful expression of unconditional love that embodies complex family dynamics, both in this film and in my community.
This film portrays three generations of Arab women struggling with self-image, tradition, and reputation. My goal indirecting To’oborni was to color each role with nuance, carefully subverting the tropes found within our community that depict complex humans as one-note. Though we may be capable of inflicting hurt upon those dear to us in the name of love, we are also capable of profound compassion. That is at the heart of To’oborni.