BARAKAH MEETS BARAKAH

Meet Barakah, a middle-class municipality worker who dabbles in public theater. Meet Bibi, a famous Instagram sensation in the midst of fortune and fame. When the unlikely pair in BARAKAH MEETS BARAKAH cross paths and begin a budding romance, alone time is at a premium. Dates as commonplace as dinner at a restaurant, an afternoon at the beach, or a casual drive through the city are off limits for the young Saudi Arabian couple. Barakah longs for the days of the generation before him where things like art, music, and love weren’t hidden or forbidden. When the relationship seems nothing short of impossible, Barakah leans on Da’ash, his gruff uncle who offers less-than-helpful dating advice, and Sa’adiya, his over-bearing aunt who doubles as neighborhood gossip and midwife, who are both desperate for Barakah to find a wife. Barakah’s misguided attempts courting the reluctant Bibi make for a complicated love story of two people facing the realities of their country’s customs and the barriers meant to keep them apart. (In Arabic with subtitles) —A.B. BARAKAH MEETS BARAKAH was selected as Saudi Arabia's entry for Best Foreign Language Film for this year's Academy Awards ®.