Rebirth (wto)

Antoun Issa powerfully captures his mother's true experiences of love, heartbreak and new hope during the violence of civil war.

Beirut, 1974. Laila Khalil has just come of age for marriage. The eldest of five in a poor Catholic family, Laila knows that she must fulfil her family's expectations. But her heart is drawn to the handsome Nicolas, a coiffeur at a local hair salon. Dodging the watchful eyes in their patriarchal society, particularly those of Laila's domineering father, the two young lovers begin a tender romance. Soon, they begin to make plans for marriage.

But Laila's dreams are dashed when the Lebanese Civil War breaks out.

Shells whir overhead as Laila's family are caught in heavy clashes between the Christian Phalangists and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. When tragedy strikes, Laila watches all her hopes wither to ash. But just as life seems its darkest, a lifeline presents itself: the prospect of migration to a faraway land called Australia.

Rebirth brings to light a young woman's extraordinary journey through war, tragedy, migration and renewal.