Fatima is a Toronto-born modern muslim girl raised in a family of mixed-cultures and mixed messages about what her role in the world is. She gets sucked into the empowering world of a sexy Burlesque cabaret, and unleashes her brave and confident Burlesque identity, “Babylon”. Then she must reconcile her old self with her new.
Acting
Shiva Negar carries the whole film on sequined shoulders.
Costume
Burlesque looks that make you want to learn rhinestone glue gun skills.
Direction
Jackie English's indie Toronto vision feels authentically cramped and real.
Director
Jackie English
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The film sat in distribution limbo for years despite festival buzz, typical of Canadian indie cinema's struggle to break south of the border.
Released pre-hijab ban debates in Quebec, the film's Toronto-specific multiculturalism now reads as almost nostalgic political fantasy.
CA
US
