- Language
- Palestinian Arabic · English subtitles
- Countries
- The Netherlands / Palestine
- Format
- Digital, color · 16:9
- Runtime
- 17 minutes
- Production
- Buddy Film Productions, NL
Synopsis
During her parents' visit, a new Palestinian mother living in Amsterdam struggles to connect with her newborn. As family dynamics unfold, postpartum challenges and family expectations grow.
Through unspoken tensions, small gestures, and moments of care, the film explores the quiet suffocation that can exist within love.
Festivals & Support
- World Premiere
- TIFF 2026 — Short Cuts
- Development
- Doha Film Institute Script Lab
- Support
- Netherlands Film Fund
Director's Statement
“Tomorrow, when you become a mother, you will understand what I mean.”
That sentence used to irritate me. Then, in May 2024, I became a mother — and I began to understand what she had meant, not because motherhood made me wiser, but because it introduced me to emotions I had never known before.
When my parents visited us after my son's birth, I found myself living in two roles at once: I had become a mother while still being someone's daughter. Their love was generous and unconditional, yet at times it left little room for me to discover motherhood on my own terms. That contradiction became the starting point for A Tenderness.
Sabrine Khoury
Cast
- Rand Abou FakherReema
- Salim DawImad
- Areen OmariSalma
- Karim Daoud AnayaAmir
- Axel MaessenZain
Key Crew
- Writer & DirectorSabrine Khoury
- ProducerDewi Reijs
- CinematographyAziz Al-Dilaimi NSC
- Production DesignFarhad Vilkij
- EditorKatharina Wartena
- Sound DesignJaim Sahuleka
- ColoristRemi Lindenhovius
- Line ProducerAnna Spierings
