Sirens tells the story of the Lebanese trash metal band Slave To Sirens, composed exclusively of women.
In metal, it is entirely about sacrifice. On that, the five musicians of Slave To Sirens are in full agreement. Lebanon is known as the most progressive Middle Eastern country, but even there it is not obvious for five women to play in a metal band. Especially not if you belong to the LGBTQIA+ community, like Lilas Mayassi and Shery Bechara. Those two guitarists in the band were once in a relationship and the break-up still lingers. But in Sirens, director Rita Baghdadi concentrates on the band’s struggle against prejudice and, above all, on the passion that keeps the fire burning in the quintet. Baghdadi also has a fine eye for the bustling, noisy and demanding city that is Beirut. Partly filmed after the city’s horrific 2020 port disaster, Sirens is an ode to undaunted perseverance. Sirens has been piling up awards since the documentary premiered at Sundance Film Festival. (Free to Film Fest Ghent)