The Necklace of Seven Souls

Two Palestinian teenagers discover secrets that change all they thought they knew about their family histories, and their own futures.

Farida is a talented young painter who recreates European masterpieces under the patronizing eye of a Parisian art dealer. Mazen just arrived in France to hunt for a lost family heirloom. When the two meet during a chance encounter at the Louvre museum, they discover a shared history between their grandmothers, both of whom fled Palestine during the Nakba in 1948. Drawn to one another, Mazen and Farida join forces to unearth their past, but a shadowy ring of art forgers has its sights set on Farida. Can she unravel the mystery before it's too late?

Exploring what it means to live in diaspora, Hooda Shawa's U.S.-debut moves from Paris to Haifa, from Aleppo to Tangier, conjuring the jewel tones of the Mediterranean and the bittersweet taste of memory.