Determined to have her first kiss, Loulwa defies her tumultuous world in search of normalcy. As she braves the streets of Beirut in pursuit of her sexual awakening, she finds herself taking an instant leap into adulthood when her world erupts into a redefined "normal."

Director Biography - Nay Tabbara

Nay Tabbara is a Lebanese filmmaker based in New York, and a recent MFA in Filmmaking graduate from NYU Tisch School of the Arts — where she also teaches Editing within the Graduate Film department. Before moving to New York, Nay built her on-set experience working as an assistant director on numerous award winning pictures, most notably The Insult by Ziad Doueiri (2017 Academy Award nominee).

Born and raised in Beirut, Nay's stories center around her upbringing, and are inspired by her experience as a Lebanese woman existing within a largely hybrid society. She is a 2021 Sundance Uprise and Doha Film Institute grantee for her upcoming project Ebb & Flow. Her most recent short film Frayed Roots premiered at the 2020 Raindance Film Festival and has toured the circuit in several other Academy-Awards qualifying film festivals.

Director Statement

Growing up in Lebanon meant awakening to the world at an early age; learning to be a fighter and navigate catastrophes early on. I was raised in a time in Beirut when bombings and political assassinations became a trend that it felt ironically unsettling when things were quiet. Despite that history, my friends and I lived a normal adolescence and managed to just be kids when the world around us forced us to be adults.

This experience is not only particular to Lebanon, or to the Lebanese youth. This is what many adolescents from many different communities share around the world everyday: when their cultures are threatened; the stability and the familiar shaken by something beyond their control. When their happily ever after is redefined - shattered - they still fight to find their way, and be kids.

Ebb & Flow stems from the urgency to reclaim humanity in our stories, while healing the traumas we grew up living. It is a letter to my niece, and to all Arab youth grasping onto their childhood to prevail, despite the ongoing calamities and the lack of empathy worldwide. It is an Arab coming of age story that highlights a relatability and humanity in an unrelatable environment, portraying a typical teenage struggle - one that is almost universal. Despite all complexities, childhood will always prevail.