Scales

By Benjamin Lutz

The short:

The allegorical feminist film Scales revolves around the story of a young woman named Hayat, who lives in an impoverished fishing village where families must sacrifice their daughters to sea monsters.

The long:

Rejecting this dark tradition, Hayat grows up an outcast. When her mother gives birth boy, she is faced with two choices: accept the brutal custom or escape.

This film is Riyadh's entry to the 2021 Oscars, Scales will be released in the US next year.

To watch or not to watch?

The black-and-white, 75-minute movie, which recently made its American debut, is a fictional but powerful story. It was shot on location in Khasab, Oman, an exclave that borders the United Arab Emirates and the shores of the Strait of Hormuz. The country's rocky, burnt orange mountains were an ideal backdrop for a film where the markers of today, like a high-rise or cell phone, were intentionally left out.