The Chant opens with a procession, heading through the landscape beckoning the rain.
It is quickly revealed to be a dream, a distant memory of an old Palestinian practice belonging to the dementia-suffering Mariam (Shafiqa Al Tal). She lives with her son, Moussa (Nadeem Rimawi) who struggles with her condition, particularly when it prompts her to wander, confused in the city streets. Miriam’s is one of three stories that subtly interconnect in May Ghouti’s short drama – the tales of three Jordanian women of different ages who are neighbours and each going through their own personal struggles.
Aya (Samira Asir) finds Miriam wandering near their building and returns her safely to her apartment. She is, herself, returning home from the hospital and preparing to anxiously await the results of the latest round of IVF treatment that she and her husband Sanad (Majd Eid) have undertaken. In the flat upstairs, Haneen (Sofia Asir) rushes to desperately tidy her home to clear away the evidence of her father (Ahmad Kloub) who is a person of short stature, and of whom she is embarrassed. Following each of these women across the course of a single day, The Chant is a gentle examination of their situations and their relationships.
In some ways the women each exhibit a kind of shame – Haneen’s is clearly about her father, while Aya despairs of her inability to have a child with Sanad, and Miriam understands, at times, the burden she is on her son. However, Ghouti is not interested in pushing these emotions into the realm of melodrama, instead opting for discreet moments in which the tensions are delivered in broken eye contact, in nervous glances, in understated body language. All three of the actresses give nuanced performances that allow Ghouti to mine the deeper waters of their characters giving all three moments of release and reconnection that strike a perhaps unexpectedly profound chord.
Director: May Ghouti
Cast: Shafiqa Al Tal, Samira Asir, Sofia Asir, Nadeem Rimawi, Majd Eid, Ahmad Kloub
Producers: Tamir Naber, Omar Sawalha, May Ghouti Cinematography: Omar Sawalha Editing: Wael Joudeh, Ahmad Ramahi
Sound: Hussam Sabanekh
Music: Laith Totah
Art direction: Ayoub Nahhas Production company: Moonstone Productions (Jordan)
Venue: Cairo International Film Festival (Short Film Competition)
In Arabic 22 minutes
