Reclaim The Frame presents: Brides + Q&A

This screening will be followed by a conversation with writer Suhayla El-Bushra, producer Nicky Bentham and lead actor Ebada Hassan.

The film will be presented with descriptive subtitles and an optional audio description track available. 

Teenage best friends Doe and Muna are going on the trip of a lifetime. Doe, a quiet and watchful Somali refugee, hasn’t travelled since arriving in the UK as a child. Muna, bold and defiant, leads her through airport security with the promise of a new beginning. But this is no holiday. The girls are heading to Istanbul to be taken across the Syrian border to start a new life. When their contact fails to appear, their journey becomes a perilous improvisation across unfamiliar territories. Tested by hardship and fatigue, their bond deepens as we glimpse the fraught histories they carry - and the stark reality of their destination.

Brides is the debut feature from acclaimed theatre director Nadia Fall, written by Suhayla El-Bushra (Ackley Bridge, Becoming Elizabeth), and produced by Oscar-nominated Nicky Bentham (The Duke, Moon). A gripping, emotionally charged road movie about friendship, belonging, and the radical choices of youth.

About the guests: 

Suhayla El-Bushra is a Brighton-based screenwriter and playwright. She has written for TV drama series HOLLYOAKS, BECOMING ELIZABETH and was a lead writer and executive producer on ACKLEY BRIDGE (C4/The Forge). She is currently working with Avalon Productions on a book adaptation, as well as developing an original series with The Forge. Suhayla was writer in residence at the National Theatre where her adaptation of Nikolai Erdman’s The Suicide was staged in the Lyttelton. Other plays include Pigeons at The Royal Court, The Long Song at Chichester Festival Theatre, The NW Trilogy at The Kiln and a musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile at Regents Park Open Air Theatre. Her short film BUSH was made by Film4/Neon Films, and she was selected for BAFTA Elevate in 2018. BRIDES is Suhayla's debut feature film.

Newcomer Ebada Hassan hails from South London. She was cast in BRIDES as Doe following several rounds of workshops and auditions after having responded to an open casting call on social media that was posted by celebrated casting director Shaheen Baig. Shooting BRIDES offered Hassan her first opportunity to travel for work, which she did whilst juggling her studies. Following the shoot, she returned to University and recently graduated from King's College London with a BA in Global Health and Social Medicine. Since completing her studies and wrapping on BRIDES, Ebada has been honing her craft at Collective Acting Studios and is now pursuing acting as a career.

Nicky Bentham is an Oscar-nominated film producer and founder of London-based Neon Films. The company develops and produces untold stories from the margins, bringing them into the mainstream spotlight for international audiences. Last year she produced the thriller LOCKED IN with Gaumont UK and Netflix, directed by Nour Wazzi, which was the global number 1 on the platform for multiple weeks. She was Oscar-nominated in 2024 for the short film THE AFTER, directed by photographer Misan Harriman, starring David Oyelowo and financed by Netflix. Previous producing credits include THE DUKE starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren directed by Roger Michell, and the multi-award winning MOON. Nicky sits on the board of Pact and is co-chair of Pact’s Film Producers' Group. She is a voting member of BAFTA and co-founder of the non-profit organisation Raising Films.