STRAW 2025: A Mother’s Silence Was Louder Than a Siren
A haunting look at grief, survival, and a mother’s quiet collapse in a world that never gave her room to fall.

Now settled, Dounia and her grandparents slowly get to know Canada, the new home that welcomed them: its intense seasons, its special foods, its languages (three and counting!). Dounia’s grandparents are sure to keep their Syrian traditions alive at home, while her new friends share traditions of their own, like Rosalie’s French-Canadian lifestyle or Miguizou’s vast indigenous folklore. So while she still misses her dad who stayed back in Aleppo, Dounia now has new ways to keep him with her. It’s when Kukum, Miguizo’s grandmother, teaches Dounia to call her father with all of her heart, that he just might find his way back to her.
A haunting look at grief, survival, and a mother’s quiet collapse in a world that never gave her room to fall.
J Brooke, Incluvie Guest Columnist on 'Life and Beth' and 'Sort of': while living one’s truth is freedom, speaking it as a mandatory assignment can become captivity.
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Jeff Aquino’s film “Viral” placed second in 2020’s Incluvie Film Festival fest, he’s back again with his film "An A Peel for Justice".