The Fundy Film Society

Sabah

The latest film by Ruba Nadda (I Always Come To You), Sabah is a moving and graceful interracial love story that has screened to wide acclaim and sold-out crowds at several international festivals.

Sabah (Arsinée Kanjian, Ararat) is a forty-year-old woman who lives at home with her elderly mother (Fadia Nadda). Once a modern Arab, Muslim family, they adopted more conservative values when Sabah’s father passed away unexpectedly shortly after their arrival in Canada. Sabah has spent years caring for her mother without complaint, but years of sacrifice and heeding the commands of her traditional brother Majid (Jeff Seymour) have begun to take their toll. When she comes upon a photograph of her father and herself swimming happily in the ocean, Sabah decides she needs to get away.

Exhilirated by her sense of adventure, Sabah sneaks off to go swimming as a birthday present to herself. While there, she meets Stephen (Shawn Doyle), and after a few chance encounters they develop an intimate connection. Before long they’re in love and the world feels like a better place; things are going exceptionally well until Sabah must face the wishes of those who will never allow her relationship to flourish.

Exquisitely shot and acted, Sabah is both a heartwarming love story and a reflection of some of the issues that define a truly multi-cultural country like Canada. Filmmaker Nadda has cast the film to perfection; Kanjian, always a joy to watch, shines as a woman with pure intentions in a complicated world.