When the first boy he ever loved visits town, disrupting his tenuous marriage, a closeted sheikh (Muslim priest) must face his inner truth.
In an animated sequence stylized by striking charcoal illustrations, an angel is cast out of heaven, left to spiral through the sky into an endless black pit. As darkness consumes the fallen angel, Abu — an imaam at a small New England mosque — is awoken by sunlight. Through this sunburst, a hand reaches toward him. The entire instance is revealed to be a vision when Abu jolts awake on the floor of his mosque, ripped from his dream by the call to prayer.
Abu returns home to his wife, Faduma, who has prepared breakfast at the crack of dawn. A soccer match plays on the TV, which holds Abu’s attention far more effectively than the best efforts of his loving wife. One player in particular, Khalid, has a romantic history with Abu from their time growing up together. Later that day, Abu teaches an Islamic studies class, discreetly working on an original charcoal illustration of an angel on the side.
Later that day, Abu teaches an Islamic studies class and discreetly works on a charcoal illustration of an angel. When he looks up from his art, he is stunned to find Khalid before him.
Khalid is visiting town between seasons and takes Abu for lunch to catch up. Khalid immediately noticess that Abu is not himself and encourages him to prioritize his happiness. There are clearly remnantunresolved feelings between the two of them, which ultimately scares Abu off and drives him deeper into his shell.
That night, Faduma confronts Abu about their intimacy issues. Unable to answer for his behavior, Abu distracts her with a passionate kiss, pulling the sheets over their heads. Under the covers, Faduma has been replaced by Khalid, who Abu imagines as he makes love to his wife. When Abu refuses to meet her gaze, Faduma pushes him off, shattering his fantasy.
The following day, Abu performs wudhu — a cleansing ritual done before prayer in Islam. Kneeling before God, Abu concludes prayer by looking to the right once and then to the left, where a being of golden light with no corporeal form mirrors his movements. Abu stumbles backwards in fear and when he blinks, the figure has reverted to a beam of light shining in front of him.
Gulet Isse is a trans feminine, Somali American filmmaker and actor straight out of NOLA, baby! Their work as a performer has earned them roles on-screen in productions such as LITTLE AMERICA (2022) and CANDIS CAYNE’S SECRET GARDEN (2023), as well as developmental fellowships from The Sundance Institute, Center for Cultural Power, and Transgender Film Center. In conjunction with their work in film, Isse founded BXD Collective—a medium-agnostic community platform through which they have curated annual summer exhibitions and raised over $25,000 to develop the work of 50+ underrepresented artists to date.
Transgender Film Center — 2024 Trailblazer Grant
Director of Photography - Sade Ndya
Producer - Caro Knapp
Producer - Giovanna Trujillo
Actor - Gulet Isse
