Trapped in an arranged marriage, a young woman risks everything in her fight to reclaim her stolen life.
Runtime: 15:00
Category: Short Fiction
Director: Kae Bahar
Award-winning writer and director Kae Bahar has worked internationally as a documentary filmmaker and actor. He has produced several documentary films for Channel 4, BBC, and Al Jazeera English. In 2003, he obtained a BA in Film & Media from Birkbeck College, London. His passion for writing led him to complete five feature film screenplays as well as several shorts, including Go Crazy, which won 2nd Prize in the Shore Script Contest in 2017. Kae published his first novel, Letters From a Kurd, in 2015. His directorial debut in narrative films, I Am Sami, was screened at over 150 international film festivals, winning 57 awards, including 32 for best film and audience choice. In 2020, Kae completed an MA in Feature Filmmaking at Bath Spa University. He is currently developing several short films, including Go Crazy, and feature films such as American Gambit and Blindfold Shoes (both recently recognized as “Excellent Scripts” by Filmarket Hub), as well as Roman & Juliet. SKALA is Kae’s latest short film drama, shot in December 2022 in Kurdistan.
Director Statement
Skala explores gender discrimination and arranged marriage while also addressing the secretive lives the LGBT community is forced to lead. Many hide behind the pretext of marriage to escape the traditional and non-tolerant culture of Middle Eastern societies towards gays and lesbians. Skala is an indie short with an all-Kurdish cast and crew. We made sure that our call for creating the team was inclusive, and I am delighted to say we had many talented women on our team.
