Event

It is 2017 in the Uyghur Region. Dilber, a 27 year-old single woman, watches her younger sister Rena marry, while facing pressure to get married as well. Dilber’s mother resolves to find a husband quickly, and to undo any curse that may have befallen her daughter from meeting a suitor. As Rena settles down with her new family, she confesses to Dilber that her husband has been questioned and detained by the district committee. Uyghurs are arrested every day, without civilians knowing why. One day during a routine video call with her friend Gulnur in Paris, Dilber is offered an escape hatch: to marry remotely with a Uyghur man living there. As tensions rise and fears mount, Dilber’s best hope lies in marrying this young man — but will that be enough?

Directed by Bastian Ehouzan and Mukaddas Mijit, 2024, 56 mins, Uyghur with English Subtitles

This film screening is part of the CEAS and Penn Museum co-sponsored Freedom Crossing Film Festival. See HERE to purchase tickets or bundled passes.