TIFF Lightbox, Cinema 2
Film Details: 18 minutes | Directed by Omar Mouallem | Homegrown Shorts | Fiction (Under 60 Minutes) | 2025 | Canada | English | Toronto Premiere | Awards (selected): Edmonton International Film Festival, MENA Film Festival, Brampton International Film Festival, MENA Canadian Filmmaker Grant Prize (2024)
Synopsis: Looking for friendship in a new country, Nader (Anas Hasan), a Palestinian international student, moves in with two chauvinistic bros who exploit him for rent money and social currency during a wave of pro-Palestinian campus protests. Hoping to fit in, Nader invents a girlfriend named "Cynthia" (Megan Tracz), who gradually becomes a warped projection of Nader's insecurities as a foreigner. As fantasy and reality blur, he must decide whether to end the illusion or keep clinging to the only 'person' who values him. Based on a short story by Saeed Teebi from his acclaimed book "Her First Palestinian," NADER'S GIRL is a darkly funny and sometimes disturbing exploration of masculinity, assimilation and performative allyship.
Website: nadersgirl.com
