A new teaser for the Sundance Film Festival favourite documentary Sirens features Lebanon’s first all-female thrash metal band. The film follows the narrative of Slave to Sirens as they try to make it big in the music industry against the backdrop of a war-torn Middle Eastern country where women’s rights are never guaranteed. Much of it centres on Lilas Mayassi, a 23-year-old musician, as she struggles to figure out how to be a leader for her bandmates during a period of great upheaval, as both she and her band members experience personal difficulties and her country is on the verge of collapse. At the beginning of the clip, Slave to Sirens is seen on a high as they prepare to perform at a music festival with the United Kingdom in the hopes of being well-known outside their home country of Lebanon.
The band’s shared sense of camaraderie and enthusiasm takes a backseat to the reality that their public debut did little to further their career. Upon returning home, they are confronted with the stark truth of their situation: they are always at risk of conflict on their doorstep and instability inside their neighbourhoods, and they are continually threatened with their right to sing. They keep singing and performing wherever they can since it’s something they enjoy and can do despite their precarious situation. Lilas, however, is correct in pointing out that music is never the exclusive focus.
The teaser reveals that the Sirens are still teenage girls navigating a hostile, or at least unsympathetic to them, environment. While the band provides them with a sense of community and independence, the stresses of adulthood and their unfulfilled aspirations of becoming international rock stars eventually break them apart. Especially for Lilas and the band’s co-founder Shery Bechara, whose own troubled histories have led to friction in the past, personal concerns have a significant impact on their relationships and their work. Screaming into an indifferent world, Lilas and her bandmates must figure out who they are and what they need to become. Rita Baghdadi, located in Los Angeles, directed the North Dakota oil boom documentary My Country No More in 2018, and also served as a producer on the Oscar candidate Subject at the Tribeca Film Festival this year.
Her documentary about music in the Middle East won several awards, including the Grand Jury Prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Having been nominated for the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize in World Cinema for Documentaries, Outfest is a film that has achieved both critical and commercial success. Reviewer Rebecca Landman rated the film an A and praised Baghdadi’s efforts, writing: Sirens is a compelling reminder that music can be a powerful catalyst in the fight for freedom and a beautifully balanced portrait of young women yelling to be heard within their deafeningly oppressive culture.
Defining oneself is never easy, but within this courageous story of five young women, rocking their way toward a better life, there is remarkable resilience. Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll) and Maya Rudolph (Loot) joined Baghdadi on the documentary as executive producers. Camilla Hall (Subject) serves as a producer, while Emmy-nominated producer Danielle Renfrew Behrens (Cobain: Montage of Heck) serves as an executive producer.
Sirens, which had its debut at Sundance this year, will open in New York on September 30, followed by Los Angeles on October 7 and further locations thereafter.