Director

Sally El Hosaini

Cast list

Beatriz Romilly – Nour

Amber Rose Revah – Amina

Badria Timimi – Amina’s Mother

Credits

Music: Gabriele Palmieri

Cinematography: Sam Goldie

Film Editing: Iain Kitching

Art Direction: Helen Boyce

Makeup Department: Jwan Sharif, Julia Towns

Production Manager: Marinella Abbondati

Post-Production Supervisor: Samer Alwan

Sound Recording: Tarn Willers

Gaffer: Johann Cruickshank

Assistant Camera: Andrew Trewartha

Costumes: Julia Towns

Synopsis

Henna Night is a short love drama that takes place within a British Arab family. The film exposes the suffering and desire for freedom that is occasionally shared throughout the Muslim female community. It tells a story of two Muslim girls trapped in a world where the institutions of marriage and religion bind them like cages. What starts out as a simple release of the fear induced tension turns into a much darker romantic tale. The two women come closer together under the pressure of the moment and are able to overcome the nervous condition associated with their eventual path of monogamy.

Reviews

Flavia Ferrucci, "Henna Night: Love and death, tradition and diversity clash against each other in this intense short by Sally El Hosaini". Good Short Films (Online Blog)

Academic Reviews:

“Feature Filmmaking” by Roy Armes, New Voices in Arab Cinema, (pp. 89-304)

Marriage Customs in Lar: The Role of Women’s Networks in Tradition and Change, by Emily Wells Gianfortoni, Iran & the Caucasus, Vol. 13, No. 2 (2009), pp. 285-297

“Representing Arabs and Muslims in the US after 9/11:Gender, Religion, and Citizenship” by Carol Fadda-Conrey, Contemporary Arab-American Literature (pp. 139-176)