When a leaked video of his lecture on the Psychology of Oppression goes viral and sparks accusations of anti-Semitism, tenured Palestinian-American professor Karim Hadawi finds himself at a crossroads with a harrowing ultimatum: issue a public apology to salvage his career or risk losing not only his job but also the custody of his beloved daughter. This unexpected challenge forces Karim to navigate a turbulent territory where principles clash with the pressures of public perception, plunging him into a distressing battle for integrity, family, and the preservation of freedom of speech.

Review by Andie Karvelis:

This was written prior to October 2023 and it was inspired by true events.

When a video is leaked of Palestinian-American professor Karim Hadawi’s lecture on the psychology of oppression it sparks accusations of Anti-Semitism and threatens not only the professor’s livelihood but his integrity, his family, and the preservation of freedom of speech.

This story was written by Nader Yousef and adapted into a screenplay by Khaled and Sami Sabawi. Regardless of where you stand on the conflict between Palestine and Israel, this is an incredibly powerful story. Within this technological age, we have a tendency to live in a “cancel culture”. Someone says or does something we don’t necessarily like and we have several online platforms to post on about it. Things can be taken out of context and quickly spiral out of control until someone is now the pariah of the world. Nader, Khaled and Sami were very smart in how this was written because it’s really about freedom of speech.

The cinematography in this was stunning, that is due to Gareth Taylor and his keen eye. Some marvelous camera shots make the look and feel of the entire film gorgeous. Personally, I was so impressed with the cast and Rodrigue Hammal’s directing. Everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE, was very organic, believable and perfectly cast. Waleed Zuaiter portrays Professor Karim Hadawi and you immediately like him, you feel empathy for him as he undergoes this journey and has some very difficult decisions to make. Each and every actor brought this story to life and Rodrigue knew exactly the performance to get from each of them.When a film is this good, you tend to get wrapped up in the story and the score seems to blend
into the world the writers created. I’m one of those individuals that pays attention to the music and James Vader did a sensational job on the score. The filmmakers really made a masterpiece with this film and I definitely look forward to what they will create next.