In Zagazig, Egypt, 19-year-old Souad (a haunting Bassant Ahmed) is a medical student, engaged to a handsome army officer – or so she tells an approving elder on the bus. In reality, her dreamy “fiance”, Ahmed (Hussein Ghanem), is a “content creator” living in the nearby Alexandria, a man she’s never actually met. They have phone sex; afterwards, she cries hot tears of shame. Egyptian film-maker Ayten Amin’s sensitive take on teen life follows Souad and her 13-year-old sister, Rabab (Basmala Elghaiesh), as they experience the pull of a more modern and permissive lifestyle. A tragedy occurs midway through, but instead of blaming social media, Amin shows how it can open a portal to a different world.
