A Turkish-Muslim American writer and a Black American filmmaker forge an intense friendship as they confront family, trauma, and the cost of staying silent, culminating in a Coney Island beach confrontation with love, mortality, and the choices that define a life.
Alara, a 35-year-old Turkish-American writer, attends an international artists’ retreat while struggling with her marriage and the legacy of her mother’s choices. She bonds with Grace, a Black American filmmaker, over shared trauma, misunderstood scripts, and the limits of endurance. Back in New York, Alara faces near-accidents, family obligations, and the fractures in her relationship with her husband Serkan and their daughter Layla. When Grace visits Coney Island, the two women reflect on survival, love, and the toll of staying silent. At the beach, with Serkan and Layla joining unexpectedly, Alara and Grace confront mortality, choices, and the example set for the next generation, finding clarity and connection in the quiet of the ocean.
A visionary storyteller from Detroit, multiple award-winning director Christine Swanson earned her MFA in Film from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Christine also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame double majoring in Communications and Japanese. Christine has become one of television’s most trusted directors of music-driven and culturally significant biopics. Her early television films include To Hell and Back (2015) and For the Love of Ruth (2015), the latter earning her an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Television Motion Picture. Her work on Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story (2016) shattered network ratings records and earned a Black Reel Award nomination. In 2020, Christine helmed The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel, which became the #1 cable movie of 2020 across all networks. The film won Best TV Movie from the African American Film Critics Association, the Satellite Award for Best Television Movie, and the NAMIC Vision Award, while earning nominations from the Critics’ Choice Awards, Women’s Image Network Awards, and five NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding Directing.That same year, Christine received a Women’s Image Network Award nomination for Outstanding Film Directed by a Woman. Her short film Fannie (2022), starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Fannie Lou Hamer, earned NAACP Image Award and Black Reel Award nominations, continuing her commitment to telling stories of legacy, courage, and cultural impact. Christine’s feature Albany Road (2024), a deeply moving road-trip drama starring Renée Elise Goldsberry and Lynn Whitfield, premiered at Ebertfest and screened at the American Black Film Festival. The film won Best Feature Filmat the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival, received a Black Reel Award nomination for Outstanding Independent Film, and earned two NAACP Image Awards — including Outstanding Supporting Actress for Lynn Whitfield and Outstanding Independent Film. Christine’s television directing credits include episodes of Chicago P.D., FBI, P-Valley, MacGyver, All American, Roswell, New Mexico, Found, All American Homecoming, Sweet Magnolias, Bel-Air and BMF. Christine resides in LA.
