MILK
Logline: In a cramped Chicago apartment, two Palestinian sisters, May and Fatimah, navigate the harsh realities of immigrant life as housekeepers. As May clings to remnants of a past life in Gaza, a breast pump becomes an unlikely vessel for grief, survival, and a confrontation with loss.
Synopsis
Milk is a short 10-12 minute narrative fiction film that follows May and Fatimah, two Palestinian Muslim sisters rebuilding their lives in Chicago after being displaced from Gaza. They share a cramped apartment with their older brother and work as housekeepers in a run-down hotel. The story unfolds over the course of a single day, exploring the quiet routines, invisible labor, and unspoken grief that shape their lives.
While Fatimah finds strength in routine, May drifts through the day tethered to a wireless breast pump — a haunting reminder of a past she can’t return to. When that private object is passed around in a break room by well-meaning coworkers, her emotional world begins to unravel. The film closes not with resolution, but with a gesture —one of release, recognition, and sisterhood.
Director’s notes
Milk was born from a longing to honor the quiet resilience of Palestinian women — mothers, sisters, and daughters who carry memory in their bodies while learning to begin again in unfamiliar places. As a Palestinian filmmaker, I want to preserve the stories of my ancestors and the fragments of identity that migration and loss so often try to erase.
Mood Board
This is the overall look and feel of the film!
Meet the Crew
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Director/Writer
Tasnim Hindeyeh began her career in Dubai and Amman, working on acclaimed Arab indie films such as The United (Sundance award-winner Amin Matalqa) and 7 Hours Difference (DIFF premiere). Her short film Valeria, exploring intergenerational trauma in the Hispanic community, screened at Festival de Cortos y Largos, Chicagoland Shorts, and Summer Spirit of Chicago. She is also the founder of Salt + Soil Agency, a creative and cultural production studio.
Producer
Gustavo Martin is an award-winning Peruvian-American director based in Chicago. His films have screened at festivals worldwide and been featured on Filmshortage.com. His documentary Fupa won Best Documentary Short at Midwest Weirdfest and screened at Boston and Atlanta Underground Festivals. He made his feature directorial debut with American Warrior (Mulberry Films/Quiver), starring Danny Trejo (Desperado, Machete) and Veronica Falcón (Ozark, Queen of the South), which opened the Santa Fe Film Festival and screened at Heartland International and Tallgrass.
Impact Producer/1st AD
Sumana Syed is a South Asian Muslim-American screenwriter and filmmaker based in Chicago, holding a BA in Film and Television from Columbia College Chicago. A recipient of the prestigious Islamic Scholarship Film Fund in 2023, she is driven by a passion for storytelling that uplifts her community and highlights pressing social issues. Her debut short film, Make Them Proud, shot in NYC with an all-WOC crew, explores mental health and the eldest daughter experience in South Asian culture, fostering meaningful conversations about therapy and representation.
Art Director
Ava Gisnberg is a Chicago-based Production Designer with a BFA in Film and Television from Columbia College Chicago. Her impressive Art Department credits include work on acclaimed TV shows such as FX’s The Bear, HBO’s Somebody Somewhere, and Apple TV’s Shining Girls, alongside independent films and commercials. Beyond her design work, Ava participates in one of the largest Palestinian film festivals, the Chicago Palestine Film Festival, as a key member of the film procurement team, where she curates and selects films for the festival’s lineup. ART DIRECTOR