Flying in the face of tradition, 50-something Muslim kindergarten teacher Lubna Sultani takes the reins of her family’s struggling 100-year-old coffee factory after the sudden death of her husband. Unprepared but undeterred, she steps into a space long reserved for men, setting off conflict that reaches far beyond the factory walls. As resistance mounts from friends and family threatened by her new found independence, Lubna discovers that forging a new future comes at a cost.
A simmering family drama centering broader themes related to gender, power, and cultural inheritance, these three episodes from the acclaimed eight-part series trace Lubna’s transformation from put upon caretaker to determined business owner. As she navigates grief, mounting debt, and the expectations imposed upon her as a newly widowed woman, she is forced to challenge the boundaries that have long defined her place in society. Anchored by Anat Hadid’s deeply human, no-nonsense performance, Sada is a compelling portrait of a woman’s resilience and reinvention in a deeply patriarchal culture.
Program features Episodes 1–3.
International Premiere
Ariel Benbaji is an Israeli television director and screenwriter. He graduated from the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School in 2008, where his graduation film received an honorable mention at the Jerusalem Film Festival. He is best known for directing acclaimed Israeli drama and comedy series including The Informer (HaMedovev), Shababnikim, New York, Urim VeTumim, and She Has It (Yesh La Et Ze).