Institute History
Description
Hana is seeking mental peace and physical respite after an overwhelming period spent working at a clinic in Ramtha, on the Jordanian-Syrian border, where she specialised in treating victims wounded in the war in Syria. She finds solace in majestic Luxor, Egypt, where she lived in her 20s and dated a handsome archeologist, Sultan, who was also studying there. On this nostalgic solo trip, she lingers through memory-filled hotel lobbies and ancient sites as she begins to grapple with her grief and her emotions from the war—but when she runs into Sultan on a ferry crossing unexpectedly, the chemistry is undeniable.
Writer/director Zeina Durra returns to the Sundance Film Festival (The Imperialists Are Still Alive!, 2010) with a restrained story of romance post-trauma. Andrea Riseborough shines as the naturally playful and delicately subdued Hana, a woman longing for intimacy and struggling to rebirth love. The city serves not only as the film’s setting but also as a point of remembrance and as an ode to the past, as Luxor honors the belief in energies, timing, and the magic of second chances.