If being a young woman in Beirut was not already difficult, Lilas, Shery, Maya, Alma, Tatyana are also members of an all-female death/thrash metal band named “Slave to Sirens” from which they try to express their own notions about themselves and their place in a society where freedom of expression is not exactly the rule. Moroccan American Rita Baghadi follows the members of the group in an effort to present the reasons behind their choices, and highlight them both as individuals and as a group.
“Sirens” is screening at the 24th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
In that fashion, the documentary begins with a live performance, including their backstage preparation and the “aftermath” of their show. A bit later, the group receives an invitation to play on the legendary Glastonbury, an opportunity all members perceive as their big break. However, as they are scheduled to play at noon, their audience is really small, and the whole thing a disappointment, particularly for co-founder Lilas, who returns to Lebanon on the brink of collapse. The events allow Baghadi to delve deeper into the characters of the girls, and particularly of Lilas and Shery, the second co-founder of the group.
In that regard, the relationship of the two girls with their parents, but also with each other, in an aspect that reveals another element of their character, and the tension that dominates it, eventually take center stage, even though music is always on the foreground. Their antithesis is quite intense actually, with Shery being quite open about her thoughts, feelings and sexuality, while Lilas prefers not to reveal almost anything. When a fight during a group meeting escalates, the dynamics are revealed even more, in one of the most impactful moments of the documentary.
All the while, Baghadi intersperses footage of fighting on the streets of Beirut, anti-government rallies, and the 2020 explosion in the local port, essentially showing how explosive the whole situation in the country is. Furthermore, references to the Article 534, about “relationships against nature”, writings on walls against homophobia, and various sequences from the news showcase the social issues the country faces, which are equally dire with the political ones. These scenes are frequently combined with the group's tracks, in a music video style that works quite well for the narrative, while exemplifying the overall work done in the editing by Grace Zahrah. Lastly, the whole combination of the aforementioned elements, along with a number of photo shoots and a live performance where Lilas and Shey play “Kashmir” along a classical orchestra, conclude an approach that allows the documentary to flow very easily through the diversity of its elements, with its 77 minutes of duration also helping the most in that regard.
Truth be told, some more focus on the rest of the members of the group would also be welcome here, but in the end, “Sirens” emerges as an excellent documentary that manages to present the story of the group and its members rather eloquently, and combine it with a series of sociopolitical comments.
It’s 2022 and people are still afraid of lesbians. What a world.