Warning: this film contains difficult themes including depression and suicide.

Souad, the main character and namesake of Ayten Amin's 2020 film, is a spunky 19-year old living in a city north of Cairo. Outwardly, she maintains an observant and obedient Muslim lifestyle: going to school, praying regularly, wearing hijab, and doing chores for her father around the house. On Facebook, however, Souad has a secret on-and-off relationship with Ahmed, a man who lives in Alexandria. Souad has never met Ahmed in-person, but they video call all the time and she has plans to sneak away and visit him once her university exams are over.

Souad’s younger sister, Rabab, is more reserved than Souad. They share everything from inside jokes about their family to friend circles, daily chores, clothes, and makeup. But Rabab doesn’t understand everything Souad is going through, nor does she know much about Souad’s mysterious relationship with Ahmed. Rabab will discover the details of Ahmed’s life and his connection to Souad only after a devastating tragedy occurs.

Souad is available to watch on Amazon UK and is showing at various film festivals around the world right now. It's not yet available on streaming platforms in the US.

Vocabulary / مفردات

3:32
تعودو عليهم
You get used to them

9:50
عندي ظروف
I’m on my period (in this context)
Literal translation: “I have situations”

9:59
مش قادر/ة
I am not able to or I can’t

10:22
قشعريرة
Goosebumps

23:34
ارنب
Rabbit

23:38
كل حاجة
Everything
Egyptian dialect, in levantine “everything” would be كل شيء

31:40
خلاط
A blender

32:07
ظفر / ظافر
Fingernail/s

32:45
عندك على فايس؟
Are you friends on Facebook?

57:37
ازيك؟
How are you?
Egyptian Arabic dialect

1:07:17
تسكني من هنا؟
Do you (f.) live near here?

1:20:03
نزلها
To post it
This is a variation of the verb نزل, meaning to go or to descend. For more information on this verb and examples of how to use it, visit our “To Come and To Go Arabic Verbs” vocabulary list

1:29:25
تقلدلك سعاد؟
Should I imitate Souad for you?
تقلد / قلد
You imitate / he imitated

1:35:06
وجهلك بعدي
I will send it to you later