A female Lyft driver navigates the night shift in New York City while waiting to hear life-or-death news from her family in Syria.
Acting
Hana Chamoun's face does more work than most Oscar speeches.
Direction
Fowler turns a car interior into a pressure cooker of dread.
Writing
Every word not said about Syria screams louder than dialogue.
Director
Claire Fowler
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Fowler based the film on real interviews with Syrian refugees working gig economy jobs, capturing a specific post-2016 immigrant experience rarely shown on screen. The Kerhonkson reference nods to upstate NY's unexpected Syrian communities.
The 14-minute runtime mirrors a real Lyft ride—forcing viewers into the same temporal trap as Salam, unable to escape the slow-motion dread. Chamoun improvised several silent reactions after Fowler cut dialogue.
US
