Donya, a lonely Afghan refugee and former translator, spends her twenties drifting through a meager existence in Fremont, California. Shuttling between her job writing fortunes for a fortune cookie factory and sessions with her eccentric therapist, Donya suffers from insomnia and survivor's guilt over those still left behind in Kabul as she desperately searches for love.
Acting
Anaita Wali Zada's debut is devastatingly restrained
Direction
Jalali's deadpan patience lets silence scream
Writing
Fortune cookie poetry as existential cry for help
Director
Babak Jalali
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Anaita Wali Zada was an actual Afghan refugee and former translator with no acting experience; Jeremy Allen White joined after loving Jalali's previous film.
The film subverts the 'refugee trauma' genre by refusing redemption arcs—Donya doesn't heal, she endures, which is the more honest immigrant story.
US
