Original Title: Nujim An-Nahar
Director: Ossama Mohammed
Country: Syria
Language: Arabic with English Subtitles
Runtime: 105 min
Rating: NC16

Synopsis

Set in a coastal village northwest of Damascus, this jewel of Syrian cinema traces the catastrophic dissolution of the Ghazi family as they prepare for a double wedding celebration. Their preparations for the festivities culminate in a pressure cooker of underlying resentments and stifled desires. When bride-to-be Sana inevitably gets cold feet, her humiliated family is forced to venture forth to a chaotic, spiralling city.

A richly layered allegory for the Ba’athist regime, the family is dominated by tyrannical patriarch Abbas whose obsession with power and control over his sister’s marriage mirrors the broader oppressive political landscape. The village and wedding become political theatres to explore the illusion of freedom and belonging under dictatorship.

Told through stark imagery and with terrifying intimacy, Stars in Broad Daylight is a biting polemic against totalitarianism and has never been allowed a public screening in Syria.

Restoration Notes

Restored by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in collaboration with Ossama Mohammed. Funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.

This screening is part of the LANDMARK programme co-curated by the Asian Film Archive, as part of the Singapore International Film Festival. Tickets and more information here.

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