Experiencing Interruptions?

A Sotto Voce Night

Logline: A quiet, empty bar. A familiar face. And all the words she left unsaid.

Synopsis: Lailah, a woman in her 20s, sits alone in a bar, sipping whiskey across from a familiar man. Their conversation—part playful, part piercing—slowly unravels the regrets she’s buried: her abandoned law career, her mother’s quiet grief, the approval she never asked for. But tonight isn’t just another Tuesday. The dim light, the old jazz record, even the cinnamon in her drink—they’re all echoes of someone who used to sit in this very seat. Someone she’s talking to for the first time in years. Someone who, by any logic, shouldn’t be here at all.

  • Joanna Arida
    Director
  • Joanna Arida
    Writer
  • Mahdi Abu Salma
    Producer
  • Leen Hamarneh
    Producer
    Red Sea Makes Me Wanna Cry
  • Nour Seraj
    Key Cast
    "Lailah"
    The Place
  • Samer Hamarneh
    Key Cast
    "Lailah's Father"
    Chronicles of Her
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 35 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 1, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    560 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Jordan
  • Country of Filming:
    Jordan
  • Language:
    Arabic
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - New York Film Academy
Director Biography - Joanna Arida

Joanna Arida is a Jordanian filmmaker, writer, and actor with a background in architecture. After her role as Rania in Netflix's “AlRawabi School for Girls”, she deepened her passion for both screenwriting and filmmaking, graduating from the New York Film Academy. Over the past two years, she has interned in Production and Art Department on films, gaining hands-on production experience. Joanna has written around 10 short scripts, directed two short films (where both won many festival awards), and is now developing a feature, which has already been doctored by Netflix & Sony Pictures’ MENA Content Leader. Balancing filmmaking with acting, she continues to explore storytelling from both sides of the camera.

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Director Statement

As a filmmaker, I seek to tell stories that shift the focus away from the prevailing narrative of conflict that often overshadows Arab identity. This film is a quiet and simple reminder that our lives are full of love, family, and personal struggle too —experiences that are universal, yet deeply individual. Through a simple conversation between a daughter and her deceased father, I aim to humanize the Arab experience, highlighting our emotional landscapes, our unspoken bonds, and our quest for personal fulfillment, far removed from the violence that the world often associates with us.