The first Jordanian film selected for Cannes Film Festival, Inshallah a Boy invites its viewers to step into the shoes of Nawal, a recently widowed mother who must deal with the consequences of her husband’s sudden death. Nawal is not dealt an easy hand as she battles to keep a roof over her and her daughter’s head, in opposition to an archaic inheritance law which would relinquish her home to her brother-in-law. When she realizes a potential male heir could be the solution, she claims a pregnancy to buy herself time.

Amjad Al-Rasheed’s impressive debut feature focuses its lens on a society that is completely subsumed by patriarchal rule. Nawal’s life feels out of her hands, as the men around her discuss, decide, and act on her behalf. She is trapped under layers of familial, religious, and bureaucratic confines. These tensions build as the film goes on, and almost become suffocating to watch. Still, Nawal maintains her strength and dignity in the face of every obstacle thrown her way.

Al-Rasheed crafts an intricate narrative out of a situation that has become ordinary and commonplace in Jordan. Inspired in part by the director’s mother, Nawal is a testament to the resilience of Arab women who have the courage to stand up for themselves, even when it feels impossible to do so. Despite the Jordanian protagonist, the true beauty of this film lies in how her struggles resonate with women not just in Arab society, but universally. — Nanor Vosgueritchian