Maya & Samar (2025) Movie Script
["Goth" by
Sidewalks and Skeletons playing]
[heavy breathing]
[man moaning]
[heavy breathing]
-[exhales]
-[chuckles]
-[chuckles]
[clicks tongue]
-Maya?
You look good as a blonde.
-Thank you.
-What are you doing tonight?
[tap running]
[elevated train
rumbling in distance]
[distant voices]
[helicopter whirring]
[people yelling
and sirens wailing]
[yelling and sirens outside]
[man yelling
on loudspeaker outside]
[speaking Dari]
[sirens and commotion
continue outside]
[helicopter whirring]
[Samar crying]
VOICE ON RADIO:
[speaking Greek]
["Tou Erota Grammeno"
by Tina Alexopoulou playing]
[traffic sounds]
["Tou Erota Grammeno"
by Tina Alexopoulou continues]
-Can I take a video?
WOMAN: Okay.
[speaking Greek]
-Yeah...
Oh...
English?
[speaking Greek]
[in English] Are you lost?
-Definitely 100%
spiritually lost,
but... that's not the point.
Uh... Rebecca.
Uh, Rebecca is here?
-Ah...
Rebecca is up there.
[clicks tongue]
MAYA: Rebecca?
REBECCA: Ahh!
-Hi!
-Aw...
[giggles]
-[squeals excitedly]
-You made it.
You made it.
-I'm fucking here!
-She fucking made it!
Oh my God, Maya...
-What?
-Are you on fucking crack?
-No.
[laughs]
-Your eyes are
fucking bloodshot!
-But I like that idea
for a second.
I got laid last night.
I barely made it on the flight.
-Okay...
-But I'm here!
-Same old hot tron
on deck, huh?
-Do you miss it?
-No, no.
-It misses you!
-Let me get your stuff!
-Okay.
-Go, go.
Let me show you around.
-Wow!
Rebecca...
you've moved up in the world.
-Got lost in there.
-Oh!
Hi!
-Hi.
Welcome to our home.
-Thank you!
Oh. Mm!
Alex?
-[Greek pronunciation]
Alexandros.
-Sorry?
-Alexandros.
-Alexa-dro?
-Alex is okay.
-Okay.
My, ah, wife needs
her Canadian friend.
-You mean my drinking buddy?
-Mm, you mean your whipping boy!
-Yeah, no, my sister-wife.
-Teacher's pet tag team.
-No, stop, ew.
Oh my God, stop.
That man belongs in jail.
-This is delicious.
Professor Rutherford...
We both fucked him.
-Well...
[clears throat]
You are like family here, Maya.
-Thank you, Alex.
- Filarkia. Yeah.
-He is so sweet.
-Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, he likes going down on me,
so that was, you know...
important.
-Incredible.
-I know.
-This is fucking amazing!
I bet you're getting
so much work done here.
-Alex says this is
gonna be the baby's room.
-You're pregnant?
What, we can't drink?
-That's your response?
-Was it an accident?
-Yeah, yeah.
My IUD got lost up inside of me.
-Oh my God.
It did not.
-No!
We took it out.
It was giving me cramps.
Come on.
It's not such a big deal.
I'm...
so happy about this.
-If you have a gender
reveal party, I will...
disown you.
-Please, please!
Anyway, I just want to have fun
with you this week, okay?
-Please let me
wash my body first.
-Okay.
First door upstairs.
-First door upstairs.
-I have to pee.
[shower running]
[birds chirping]
[tools rattling]
[distant voices]
REBECCA: Okay.
-Ela. Ktse.
-Ela.
-Yeah.
-Oh, no, no, no.
That's fine.
You can--
-Come on, come on.
-Okay!
-Sit.
-Well, I've been sitting
on a flight for ten hours, so...
[sighs]
Wow.
-Mm.
-I want to say...
-Yeah?
-Rebecca and Alex...
Congratulations.
-Aw...
Thank you.
-Yamas.
-Your child's gonna be
beautiful. Yamas?
-Yamas.
-Yamas!
-Thank you.
-Yamas, yamas.
[dreampop music
playing on radio]
-I know, I know.
-I can't believe my baby's
gonna have a fucking baby!
-Stop...
I'm gonna cry!
-No!
-Thank you.
Who's that guy in the courtyard,
by the way?
With the motorbike?
-Uh... that's Yan.
-Yan.
-Alex's ex-bandmate.
-Yeah.
My old drummer.
-Okay.
-A drum...
-[door opens]
-Hi.
-Yeah, now he's, uh,
just some bullshit activist.
Ela.
-[catlike sounds]
-[speaking Greek]
-Did you find Rebecca?
-I think so!
-Rebecca!
-Hi, Yan.
[chuckles]
-So I read your last piece
on the New York dom
who killed her client.
Maya...
it was amazing.
-Thank you.
Fuck...
I can't believe
she was convicted.
[men speaking Greek]
MAYA: I was gonna go to Atlanta.
Same thing.
Woman gave her client fentanyl.
And there was a story
in Belgium like this too.
I actually...
Okay, I'm planning
this big piece across
international jurisdiction
looking at sex crimes,
and I have access...
-[groans softly]
-Are you okay?
-[groans]
MAYA: Oh...
-Sorry, this happens.
-You okay?
-Yeah.
-Are you...
-Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick.
I just think I need to lie down.
ALEX: Okay.
REBECCA: Yeah, okay?
MAYA: You-- okay.
-On a nice trip?
-TBD.
To be decide--
like, I don't know yet.
-Okay.
You have any plans?
No?
-She's my plan.
-Well, after the tavli
and the tzatziki and wine,
I'm going to a party.
Huge scene, immigrant DJs.
Um...
many girls.
-Mm.
-You're gonna love it.
-How do you know
what I'd love?
-Oh, I know.
-I know
I'm not that complicated.
Well, did you fix your bike?
-Yeah, wanna try it?
[motorbike rumbling]
[music thudding inside party]
MAYA: Wow.
YAN: Here, here, here.
Take this.
-Oh...
What you got there?
Oh!
[laughs]
Right. Molly?
Uh-huh.
Okay...
Here we go.
[muted voices and music]
YAN: No, no, no, no, no.
[clicks tongue]
No, no, you can't film here.
No.
MAYA: Yeah, I can.
I'm press.
-It's forbidden.
Once we're inside,
it's illegal, okay?
MAYA: Illegal?
YAN: Yeah.
Ah...
It's for safety.
No one violates it.
Come on.
MAYA: Whose safety?
-A lot of people, they don't
have their papers on them.
If they get caught, they
send back to the camps or worse.
-Okay.
-Please.
-Okay.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I got it.
-Mm-hm.
-I'm just gonna
look around a bit.
-Okay.
[music thudding inside party]
[motorbike approaching]
[techno music thudding]
[voices and laughter]
[voices and laughter]
-Oh...
["Ninja Princess" (techno remix)
by Simina Grigoriu playing]
[ethereal interlude]
[beat kicks in]
[breathing echoing]
SAMAR: [voice echoing]
What did you take?
Put your head down...
Near the ground.
Breathe.
[Maya exhales]
MAYA: [voice echoing]
I'm dizzy...
I'll be fine.
I just haven't slept.
I shouldn't have filmed you.
It's just
what I'm used to doing.
It's my job.
I'm a journalist.
-Okay.
-I'm from Toronto.
Where are you from?
-I'm from Kabul.
-Kabul?
[speaking Greek]
[in English]: I thought I lost
you in the wilderness.
What's your name...
[speaking Greek]
[in English] What is your name?
-My name is Yan.
-I'm Maya.
-Samar.
[music thudding inside party]
-I have to go.
MAYA: Wait...
Where can I find you?
SAMAR: Hot Candy.
-Wanna get out of here?
[seagulls calling]
-Fuck.
[heavy breathing]
[moaning softly]
[moaning]
[moaning loudly]
[birds chirping]
[birds chirping]
[waves rolling]
[seagull calling]
[speaking Dari]
[door opening and closing]
REPORTER [in English]
[video] Since seizing power
in 2021,
Afghanistan's
Taliban administration
has taken away
the hard-earned rights
won by Afghan women and girls
during two decades of rule
by American-backed governments
under the leadership of...
-Search for
"Hot Candy, Athens."
[phone beeps]
PHONE: There are three results
for "Hot Candy" in Athens.
[phone ringing]
-[sighs]
Hey, Victor.
VICTOR: [phone] When are you
back at the office?
-I just got here.
VICTOR: Ticket to Brussels,
Maya.
I need your dates.
Hundred K clicks
on the killer dom piece.
We like that.
Hello?
Maya?
MAYA: Met this girl
last night...
VICTOR: Who?
Maya, I need your dates!
REBECCA: [distant]
Come on, Maya!
VICTOR: I need to apply
for a press pass
and Tony's
waiting on you again.
REBECCA: Maya, let's go!
VICTOR: I need to book
your tickets ASAP.
I really need you on this.
And the fixer
only fucking trusts you.
REBECCA: I'm leaving
without you!
-Okay, I got-- I-I can't--
I'll call you back.
I don't-- I...
REBECCA: Maya!
-I'm on vacation, Victor.
I'll talk to you later, okay?
-VICTOR: Maya, I--
-[phone clicks off]
MAYA: I'm coming!
REBECCA: Did you shave?
-[sighs]
REBECCA: Are you wearing
a slutty bikini?
-Yes.
-[slurping loudly]
Thank you.
Did you have fun
with Yan last night?
Where'd he take you?
-A rave.
-Oh my God.
[laughs]
What are you, 16?
Some people
never fucking grow up.
Well, I have way finer plans
for us this week.
Maya...
-Do you think a woman
from Afghanistan
would do sex work here?
-What?
What are you talking about?
-I have a hunch about a woman
I met last night.
-Thank you.
Vacation, Maya.
No hunches allowed.
-Is there a strip club
called Hot Candy?
-Yeah.
Sleazy little place
near Kolokotroni.
You would love it.
-Okay...
Can we go?
-No way.
The smell would do me in.
I really wish you would stop
working for, like, a hot minute.
-I just can't stop thinking.
A queer Afghan sex worker
in Athens.
-It's been done before, Maya.
There were all these stories
here last year about these...
Afghan teenagers,
these boys who would...
suck dick in the parks.
Like, these boys would work
so that their families
could eat,
and their families fucking...
excommunicated them.
[elevated train
rumbling in distance]
[distant voices]
-I was thinking we could
go to Sounio tomorrow
for the day and stay over.
There's this cove there
that I want to take you to,
and there's this
super-cute guest house.
-I'm gonna go to
the strip club tomorrow.
-Mm.
-You should come.
-Asshole-magnet and workaholic.
-[giggles]
-Same old Maya intent.
-Oh, come on.
Fuck you!
[chuckles]
[dreamy house music
with pan flute playing]
[water sloshing]
["Handstand" by
Ty Robinson playing]
Do that shit, do that shit
Do that shit, do that shit
Do that shit, do that shit
Get up on the wall,
make it clap on a handstand
Do that shit, one time,
one cheek, come on
Do that shit, two times,
two cheeks, come on
Do that shit
One time, one time,
one time, one time...
You ain't gotta
talk nice to me
Talk like a freak
Make that ass clap
One time for a nigga,
like...
Two times
for a nigga like...
Ratta-tat-tat, come on,
make it clap
I ain't wastin' time
I ain't with the cappin'
I like it face-down,
ass in the air
Ima make you beg
on ya knees
Yeah, do that for me
Take you on a road day
First stop Celine
Need a foreplay,
I'm headin' in
It's gonna be a cold case,
how I'm killin' it
Do that shit, do that shit
Do that shit, do that shit
Do that shit, do that shit
Get up on the wall,
make it clap on a handstand
Do that shit, one time,
one cheek, come on
Do that shit, two times,
two cheeks, come on
Do that shit
One time, one time,
one time, one time...
Make it clap
on a handstand
Make that ass clap
on a handstand
I ain't Dick Clark
but my bands stand
Americano strong
but it ain't bland...
-Um... Jameson, double.
-Neat?
-Yeah.
Hands on the floor
when ya drop
Shake that ass
like it's yo job
Shit, we need a mop
Do that shit, do that shit
Do that shit, do that shit
Do that shit, do that shit
Get up on the wall, make it
clap on a handstand...
-Hey, can I get myself
one of those?
-Twenty Euro.
-Okay.
Get up on the wall,
make it clap on a handstand
Do that shit, one time,
one cheek, come on
Do that shit, two times,
two cheeks, come on
Do that shit
One time, one time,
one time, one time...
Make it clap
on a handstand...
[music becomes muted]
[man announcing in Greek]
["Who Else?"
by FrvrFriday playing]
Is it too much to ask,
take your time
Know you wanna get
that message off your mind
Makes you scream, gives you
chills down your spine
'Cause I'd love to
treat you like you're mine
I take that much pride
Who else gets you right?
You don't
have to say I'm right
But this should
hold you for the night
The things I'm doing,
don't know why
You play with fire, fire
You play with fire, fire
You play with fire, fire
You play with fire, fire
You don't
have to say I'm right
But this should
hold you for the night
The things I'm doing,
don't know why...
[song ends]
[man announcing in Greek]
[man announcing in Greek]
["Get Over Here" by Mark Roberts
and Patrick Sturrock playing]
It's been a long time comin',
mammy, I'm on a roll
Picture your boy coming
with the fat bankroll, huh?
Stamina, with
a whole lotta attitude
Check out the shine on the
bling that I'm baggin' you
Stylin', profilin',
and they frontin'
You can't trust them boys
'cause they nothin'
They show up
and I begin thumpin'
I bet my whole stack
they get something...
MAN: Hey.
Join us.
-Sure.
-Hello.
-Hello.
[in foreign language]
-This guy.
-But these guys are Polish.
-Yes, Polski.
-Polska.
SAMAR: Polish.
What are you doing here?
MAN: Work.
SAMAR: I see.
Come on, girl, lemme show you
what it's all about...
MAYA: Hey.
Guys, so sorry,
I got one of these.
[man announcing in Greek]
-Sit.
["In the Early Morning"
by Don Slevin playing]
Baby, the way
that you speak cautious
It got me clinging
to your softness
I come with a warning,
but don't men got needs?
And I pray that
it won't change a thing
Something about fallin'
Fallin' free,
fallin' no strings
Girl, I know
you got options
So what I do
to make it me
I know you wanna,
I know you wanna
I know you wanna
fall for me
I know you wanna,
you wanna tell me
Tell me you're
falling hard for me
You're falling for me
And I'm falling for you
I know you're calling on me
And I'm calling on you too
Calling on you,
calling on you
Falling on you,
falling on you
Calling on you,
calling on you
Falling for...
Falling for you.
MAN: Whoa...
[wolf whistling]
[chuckling]
Wow.
-Wow.
-That was hot.
MAN: That was sexy, guys.
MAN: Very.
[speaking Polish]
-[laughs]
That sounds bad, bro.
[indistinct conversation]
MAN: I think I love you...
[indistinct conversation]
[laughter
and indistinct conversation]
SAMAR: I don't want
to ruin your hair.
-Those glasses.
-Yes.
-Oh no, my hair.
My glasses and make-up,
my lips.
-Yeah.
-But the eyebrows.
Your eyebrows.
[laughs]
[indistinct conversation]
MAYA: Samar, I love your shoes.
SAMAR: Thank you!
[laughter]
WOMAN: What is this?
[laughter]
WOMAN: Are those--
are those stripper--
-[laughter and shouting]
-Stop!
[distant music playing]
[indistinct conversation]
[distant music continues]
[traffic sounds]
MAN: Ladies, ladies...
We are offering you...
I dunno, all of this...
-[speaking Polish]
-...to stay and party.
-We like to party.
-We love to party.
-We love to party!
[indistinct conversation]
-Let's go in.
-Room 412.
MAN: Maybe you will
come to our room!
[indistinct conversation]
[water sloshing]
-Oh...
MAN: Careful.
SAMAR: Oh!
[chuckles]
[indistinct conversation
in background]
[Samar speaking quietly]
MAYA: Come here.
SAMAR: What do you want from me?
-I want to tell your story.
And I want to fuck you.
[indistinct conversation
in background]
-Let's get out of here.
-Okay.
[indistinct conversation]
[indistinct conversation]
[speaking Polish]
[indistinct conversation
continues]
SAMAR: Ooh, this party
is getting better and better.
MAYA: This is...
party money...
MAN: The room card.
MAYA: And 412.
Got it.
MAN: Yes. 412.
SAMAR: Thank you.
[indistinct conversation]
[both giggling]
MAYA: Hey!
Woo!
Show me.
MAYA: Oh...
That's hot!
-This is where
they wanted it, right?
-Where else would they want it?
-For sure, they wanted it here!
Or more of it.
[laughing]
MAYA: Whoa!
On the floor.
SAMAR: There's a car coming!
MAYA: Oh my God,
oh my God!
-[car honks]
-[both laughing]
-[car honking]
-Aah!
-Here.
-No...
You, it's yours!
-Ooh!
Ooh-la-la!
[both laughing]
[moaning]
-[passing car honks]
-[people hollering]
-Fuck!
[laughing]
[phone beeps]
-Could we meet
somewhere more private?
-Oh...
-[phone beeps]
Nope.
I want to hear your story.
I want to tell your story--
I--
-Oh my God.
-[phone beeps]
I had a nice time last night.
I--
-No. Fuck.
-[phone beeps]
Fuck that.
[exhales]
[keyboard clicking]
[phone dings]
[exhales]
SAMAR: [voice] After 3,
come to Hatzi Street.
House 7.
-[phone beeps]
-I'll be there.
[phone beeps]
[toilet flushes]
[keyboard clicking]
-[knock at door]
-[door opens]
-I just purged
the last two days of food.
Don't ever get pregnant.
-I won't.
-What are you doing?
-I'm writing about that woman
that I told you about.
-Okay.
What about her?
-Um, profile.
A queer Afghan sex worker.
What brought her here.
Her community,
the refugee scene.
-You smell like pussy.
My sense of smell
is off the charts.
-Well, pussy smells good, no?
-Oh...
-Okay, I came across
this article
by this fucking badass
great journalist, about...
an Afghan girl who was
murdered in Moria last year
for posting a photo of her
and her boyfriend on Instagram.
-Mm-hm.
I remember that.
Maya...
[exhales]
You would never do this,
I trust that you wouldn't,
but it just makes me think,
remember what Rutherford
always said about stories
crossing cultural lines
of understanding?
-Yeah, I remember.
I remember him
fucking me up the ass too.
Did you do that?
-[exhales]
-No? Just me?
Okay.
God, I forgot how much
of a bitch you can be.
-[chuckles]
You love it.
-I know!
I missed you.
-I know.
-Dumbass.
-Bitch.
"A tragic incident...
"at the Moria refugee camp
on the Greek island of Lesbos...
"22-year-old Dhiba
was killed by..."
Maya...
Maya...
[sighs]
-I love this neighbourhood.
Do you live around here?
-Uh, I'm not far.
-Mm-hm.
I read your piece
on the women's prison
and your articles
on the refugee camps,
the situation in Lesbos,
and then the piece
on Dhiba's killing in Moria.
How is it that her family was
able to do that here in Greece?
-Are you writing an article?
What exactly are you asking me?
-I would like to have
a better understanding
of the situation
Afghan refugees are in.
-It's a very
volatile situation here.
Who is granted asylum
and who is not.
-I met a queer Afghan
woman here.
-[phone buzzing]
-Mm-hm.
-And she works
as a dancer at a club.
At a strip club.
-A strip club?
-Yes.
-Very bold.
-Mm-hm.
She's sexual.
She's okay with her sexuality.
-Doubtful.
-No, it's not.
-Are you trying to save her?
-No.
-Good.
[phone buzzing]
-Do you think she's
in a vulnerable situation,
like Dhiba was?
Even though she's not
in the camps; she's in the city.
-So, you are trying to save her.
[phone buzzing]
-I'm so sorry.
I have to take this.
[into phone]
Hi, yeah.
Yes. I'm here.
Yeah...
[speaking Dari]
[phone beeps off]
[train rattling]
[can clatters across
cobblestones]
[Maya sighs]
[motorbike passing]
[distant music playing]
[motorbike passing]
Hi.
I'm here.
Okay.
[exhales]
[door buzzer]
["Hesse Jadid" by
Morteza Pashaei playing]
-Oh, no.
-This stuff is nice.
-I put a little hash in it,
from Turkey.
[hookah bubbling]
I used to be
in a club in college,
the women's nursing union,
but it was really
an underground vinyl club.
-[chuckles]
Okay.
-At our hospital, FMIC,
it's a French hospital,
everyone had love affairs
with the NGO workers.
And we had parties.
Like, such parties.
SAMAR: We could be
whoever we liked.
[man yelling]
[wings flapping]
-Can I record this?
-Sure.
SAMAR: But you can't
show my face.
Only my body.
-Okay.
I'll put it down here...
[camera beeps]
["Hesse Jadid" by
Morteza Pashaei continues]
MAYA: Can I ask you
some questions?
SAMAR: Yes.
MAYA: How long
have you been in Greece?
[music grows quiet]
[distant voices]
[music stops]
[siren blaring]
[people yelling in streets]
[gunshots]
-You are aware what the Taliban
is doing to my country?
-It's terrifying.
You came alone.
Is your family...
still in Afghanistan?
Why did you leave?
-Because I was gay
and cavorting with foreigners.
The Taliban will make me marry.
My family will make me marry.
Can I live my whole life
in this terrible lie?
MAYA: How did you leave?
SAMAR: My friend
gave me a letter.
MAYA: Your friend?
-Frenchman.
NGO worker.
[people yelling]
SAMAR: He told me
I didn't have time.
I had to go
right to the airport.
But when I arrived
to the airport,
there were so many people there,
like walls of people,
that I couldn't
get on the plane.
-So, what did you do?
-I took a bus
from inside the airport
to Iran first, then Turkey.
With smugglers, you know?
-So, you went
from Turkey to Greece?
-Yeah.
In a rubber boat.
Rubber dinghy...
with little children in it.
-Were you scared?
SAMAR: You never believe
in one moment
your whole life could be over.
-Ah!
[phone ringing]
-My brother wants me dead.
[typing on phone]
[phone beeps]
-So, I read
all your stories online.
-Oh.
-You write about sex, yes?
-Mmh, yeah.
-Write about sex clubs.
Dominatrix murder.
Now you want to write about me?
-Yes.
-Why?
-Because I think you're brave.
I think people
should know your story.
[elevated train
rumbling in distance]
-Listen, Maya...
I can't be
in your funky magazine.
There's a guy
who gives me trouble.
A guy from the camp.
He knows my brother
and words get out.
Word reaches far.
[sighs deeply]
-Is he threatening you?
[hookah bubbling]
[distant siren]
[heavy breathing]
[heavy breathing]
[moaning]
[heavy breathing]
[heavy breathing]
[heavy breathing]
[moaning]
[heavy breathing]
[moaning]
[heavy breathing]
[moaning]
[moaning]
[moaning]
[rapid heavy breathing]
[moaning]
[exhales]
[breathing sharply]
[breathing sharply]
[phone ringing]
[distant baby crying]
[ringing continues]
-[inhales sharply]
[softly]
Fuck...
[ringing stops]
-I'm sorry, I gotta go.
[Maya sighs]
[sighs]
Rebecca's gonna kill me.
Okay.
[phone ringing]
[phone ringing]
MAYA: Yeah.
Okay.
[ringing stops]
[men speaking in Greek]
REBECCA: Mm...
Mm-mm!
[conversation in Greek
continues]
REBECCA: I don't like it at all.
It's honestly making me sick
just thinking about it.
[conversation in Greek
continues]
-Alex is right on this one.
I'm sorry.
[conversation in Greek
continues]
-It's because
he's thinking about his own--
his own mom
or something like that.
[conversation in Greek
continues]
-You're thinking about your mom.
-No, my yiayia .
[conversation in Greek
continues]
-English tra .
English.
[speaking Greek]
[Yan exhales]
Lovely sauce.
Uh...
I think you're, er...
multi-talented.
-Mm-hm.
Yeah.
-[chuckles]
-Well, Maya,
you should tell Alex and Yan
what you've been writing about.
Maya came to Greece
to visit me, of course.
And, um...
you found a story
about an Afghan stripper?
Is that right?
-Samar's a stripper?
-You've met Samar?
ALEX: Oh, there is no such thing
as an Afghan stripper.
-Stripping's just a job, Alex.
-Oh, come on, Maya,
don't be so naive.
ALEX: An Afghan woman
would never willingly
sexualize herself.
It's not part of their culture.
-Even I think
it's very, very unlikely.
REBECCA: Yeah.
Yes.
-Well, maybe after everything
that Samar has been through,
stripping is
an act of rebellion.
[Rebecca scoffs]
What, Maya,
are we back in the 1990s?
Stripping is sex-positive
feminism for a refugee?
-Samar is her own person,
with a whole complex life.
Yes, she works at a strip club.
I really don't have to explain,
and I don't need to justify
anything to any of you.
[phone clatters]
-Maya...
[clears throat]
Oh, come on.
Maya, come on.
It was just--
Maya, it's just a conversation.
I...
[door closes]
[kiss]
-Oh, fuck off, Yan.
[tap running]
[distant traffic sounds]
[distant voice on loudspeaker]
[elevated train
rumbling in distance]
[food simmering]
MAYA: [video] How long
have you been in Greece?
SAMAR: [video] Are you aware
of what the Taliban is doing
to my country?
MAYA: It's terrifying.
[fast-forwarding video]
[phone ringing]
SAMAR: My brother
wants me dead.
[fast-forwarding video]
SAMAR: ...write about sex?
[fast-forwarding video]
SAMAR: There's a guy
who gives me trouble.
A guy from the camp.
He knows my brother.
Words get out.
Word reaches far.
[heavy breathing]
-[knock at door]
-YAN: Maya...
Maya, can I come in?
[knock at door]
[heavy breathing continues]
[footsteps receding]
[heavy breathing continues]
[stops video]
[distant music playing]
[phone beeps]
-I wish I was still with you.
MAYA: [voice]
I wish I was still with you.
I wish I was still with you.
I wish I was still with--
[conversation in Dari]
[conversation in Dari
and laughter]
[conversation in Dari
continues]
[phone ringing]
-Hi.
SAMAR: [video call]
Hey.
You look nice.
-So do you.
You look so...
clean.
Fresh.
-Mm-hm.
Dirty thoughts.
MAYA: Are you working tonight?
I could come over.
-Come over.
Come now.
[phone beeps off]
[sound of kissing]
-I missed you.
-I missed you too.
SAMAR: Wait...
I want to remember this.
-Me too.
-I mean...
film us.
-Film this?
Okay.
-I need to look at you
whenever I want.
-Okay.
Where are we...?
-All right.
Here we are,
Maya and Samar.
[camera beeps]
This is for you
to remember me.
[kiss]
MAYA: God, you're hot.
[elevated train
rumbling in distance]
[ominous music]
-[gasps]
[softly]
Stop...
Stop!
MAYA: Who the fuck are you?
Dude, what the--
[yelling]
[speaking Dari]
[glass shatters]
[grunting and thudding]
MAYA: Samar!
-[heavy punch]
-MAYA: Samar!
[high-pitched ringing]
MAYA: Stop!
Get off!
Stop it!
[dramatic music]
MAYA: Oh my God...
[breathing shakily]
[breathing shakily]
Okay...
We need to go to a hospital.
You're bleeding a lot.
We need to go to a hospital,
okay?
Can you get up?
-No.
-Yeah?
Samar...
-No hospital.
No hospital.
No...
[sombre music]
-Is that okay?
-Show me your cam.
MAYA: What?
-Show it to me.
-I don't think
that's a good idea.
-Maya, show me.
Show me.
[camera beeps]
MAYA: [video]
God, you're hot.
SAMAR: [video]
Stop... Stop!
MAYA: Who the fuck are you?
Dude, what the--
[yelling]
MAYA: Samar!
[grunting and thudding]
MAYA: Stop it! Stop!
Get off, get off!
Stop it!
SAMAR: You can see
my face in this.
My whole face.
-You can see his face in this.
He needs to be in jail.
-Oh, you don't understand.
He's allowed to do this.
-No, he's not fucking allowed
to do this.
People aren't
allowed to do that.
-What?
I put my family in danger?
-Your family doesn't
rule your life here.
-Shame is for always.
-What if I posted the video?
With your story.
If I posted the video of...
Victor, my editor,
has dealt with this
kind of situation before,
and he can access
financial support and security.
And then you never
have to go through this again.
-Let me see it one more time.
[camera beeps]
MAYA: [video]
Who the fuck are you?
Dude, what the--
[yelling]
MAYA: Samar!
[grunting and thudding]
MAYA: Stop it!
Stop!
Get off, get off!
Stop it!
[camera beeps]
-Okay.
-Okay to me using the video?
-I just need to sleep now.
Let me sleep.
-Okay.
[keyboard clicking]
[chiming]
[clicks]
MAYA: [video]
Who the fuck are you?
Dude, what the--
[yelling and glass breaking]
MAYA: Samar!
[grunting and thudding]
MAYA: Stop it!
Stop!
Get off, get off!
Stop it!
[traffic sounds]
[birds chirping]
[traffic sounds]
[distant traffic sounds
and birds chirping]
MAYA: [video]
Samar!
[speaking Dari]
[video playing again]
[video playing again]
[video playing]
MAYA: [video]
Samar!
[grunting and thudding]
MAYA: Stop it!
Stop!
Get off, get off!
-[stops video]
-Oh my God.
My God...
[door opens]
[phone ringing]
[phone ringing]
[sighs]
VICTOR: [voice message]
Maya, this thing is blowing up.
Are you seeing this?
Where are you?
Call me!
-Where is she?
-You brought her here?
Why would you do that?
-Where did she go?
-She fucking took off.
-Fuck...
When?
-I don't know, Maya.
I-- five fucking hours ago,
I don't know.
It's the middle
of the fucking day.
-Why didn't you wake me up?
-Oh my God.
-Rebecca!
This is my fault now.
-Fuck, yes!
-Okay.
-I can't believe
you didn't wake me up.
-And I can't believe you posted
a video of her being beaten.
You can see her whole face.
Maya...
[line trilling]
-Do you think I don't know that?
[line continues trilling]
-CNN re-posted it.
-[Samar's voicemail]
-[hangs up]
REBECCA: So did Al Jazeera.
I'm sure you know that.
Did you not anticipate this,
Maya?
It's fucking dangerous for her.
-Rebecca,
she gave me her consent.
Remember?
That's how this works.
-No, I-- the pregnancy,
it must have given me amnesia.
[line trilling]
REBECCA: Will you just stop
doing whatever the fuck
it is that you're doing?
'Cause you're making me sick.
Why would you risk that woman's
life for a fucking story?
-Oh my God, Rebecca!
I just told you,
she gave me her consent.
-"Dead bitch.
Fucks all men."
[exhales shakily]
"Whore, deserved it."
"Allah smiles."
-Are you reading me
fucking internet trolls?
That's not helpful!
-All right,
you're making me sick, Maya.
Honestly, you're--
you're fucking
making me literally sick.
You publish a piece
about an Afghan woman
that people in the community
now know works at a strip club--
-Rebecca!
The video is evidence.
Every single refugee is
registered with the government,
so now the cops can be combing
the camps for this guy.
-Oh my God, Maya!
Maya, you should not
have done this!
-Don't tell me
how to do my fucking job, okay?
You gave up.
-Get out of my fucking house.
[line trilling]
[Samar's voicemail]
[phone beeps]
-Hi, um...
can you just answer your phone?
I just want to make sure
that you're okay.
MAYA: Samar?
[speaking Dari]
Is Samar here?
[speaking Dari]
Do you know where she is?
[tense music]
[Maya grunts in frustration]
[in English] Oh, hey, hey.
Uh, is Samar here?
-Who?
-Samar. Like, uh...
long, brown, curly hair.
Big eyes.
Afghan. Thin.
Samar.
-Not here.
-Okay.
Do you know,
did she come in earlier today?
-You her girlfriend
or something?
I'm not allowed
to talk about the girls.
-Wow.
Fucking fantastic.
[traffic sounds
and indistinct voices]
-I have something I need
to share with you, Myrto.
It's an emergency.
[indistinct voices
and laughter]
-Since we posted the video,
I haven't been able
to get in touch with Samar.
She's not answering her phone.
-And where do you think she is?
-I've looked everywhere
that I can think of.
-I know people.
No cops.
What's her last name?
Maya?
MAYA: Oh my God...
Um, I don't know.
I don't know her last name.
-But she had family here?
-No, she said that someone from
the camps was following her.
Someone who knew her brother.
-So it was arranged
from Kabul, yes?
-I don't think so.
I think that, um...
She said that word about her
travelled fast.
-Okay.
Um...
Samar is likely dead.
-No, she's not.
-Are you this invested
in all of your stories?
MYRTO: Maya...
[phone buzzing]
MYRTO: Walk with me.
I'll tell you something.
When her family sees that video
of her being beaten up,
it might be a good thing.
Of course, it's much better
if they have her body back.
But near dead is sometimes okay.
-I don't understand.
-If a family has proof
that she's been
beaten up very badly,
this so-called shame
that affects the entire family
based on a woman's
sexual infraction,
it can be resolved.
If Samar is thriving, alive...
the family is shunned.
Their reputation is tarnished.
No other daughters
can be married.
The family will never be okay.
-I just want to find Samar.
-I know.
[sighs]
I don't know if you will.
-Victor?
Since when do you
fucking sleep at night?
I need you to call me back!
I need
Reporters without Borders.
I need IRL protections.
I can't find her, and I don't
want any fucking cops.
So don't tell
any fucking cops.
And call me back!
[breathing heavily]
[muted thud and scream]
Fuck...
I shouldn't have
fucking done that.
[muted thud and scream]
[chaotic traffic sounds]
[heavy breathing echoing]
[phone chimes]
[laughs]
I thought you were dead.
-I'm alive.
I think.
-I thought that fucking guy
came back and killed you.
-I'm living, Maya.
Look at me, I'm fine.
-Did they catch that guy?
-I'm illegal here.
My asylum request
got rejected twice,
but with that video,
I have applied
for emergency asylum,
to France.
-That's amazing.
Yeah?
You can, like,
start a whole new life.
-My friend helped me
by doing this to me.
I made the video
and you made your story.
A big story, no?
200,000 likes.
-I don't understand.
-I said okay to being beat.
-The guy that beat you
is your friend?
Oh...
Fuck.
The video's staged?
You used me?
-Maybe.
Maybe you used me too.
[emotional music]
-[crying]
MAYA: Can I come to France?
Can I come to France
and visit you?
[knock at door]
[door opens]
["Antinoe" by Casque D'or
playing]
[speaking Dari]
["Antinoe" by Casque D'or
continues]
Sidewalks and Skeletons playing]
[heavy breathing]
[man moaning]
[heavy breathing]
-[exhales]
-[chuckles]
-[chuckles]
[clicks tongue]
-Maya?
You look good as a blonde.
-Thank you.
-What are you doing tonight?
[tap running]
[elevated train
rumbling in distance]
[distant voices]
[helicopter whirring]
[people yelling
and sirens wailing]
[yelling and sirens outside]
[man yelling
on loudspeaker outside]
[speaking Dari]
[sirens and commotion
continue outside]
[helicopter whirring]
[Samar crying]
VOICE ON RADIO:
[speaking Greek]
["Tou Erota Grammeno"
by Tina Alexopoulou playing]
[traffic sounds]
["Tou Erota Grammeno"
by Tina Alexopoulou continues]
-Can I take a video?
WOMAN: Okay.
[speaking Greek]
-Yeah...
Oh...
English?
[speaking Greek]
[in English] Are you lost?
-Definitely 100%
spiritually lost,
but... that's not the point.
Uh... Rebecca.
Uh, Rebecca is here?
-Ah...
Rebecca is up there.
[clicks tongue]
MAYA: Rebecca?
REBECCA: Ahh!
-Hi!
-Aw...
[giggles]
-[squeals excitedly]
-You made it.
You made it.
-I'm fucking here!
-She fucking made it!
Oh my God, Maya...
-What?
-Are you on fucking crack?
-No.
[laughs]
-Your eyes are
fucking bloodshot!
-But I like that idea
for a second.
I got laid last night.
I barely made it on the flight.
-Okay...
-But I'm here!
-Same old hot tron
on deck, huh?
-Do you miss it?
-No, no.
-It misses you!
-Let me get your stuff!
-Okay.
-Go, go.
Let me show you around.
-Wow!
Rebecca...
you've moved up in the world.
-Got lost in there.
-Oh!
Hi!
-Hi.
Welcome to our home.
-Thank you!
Oh. Mm!
Alex?
-[Greek pronunciation]
Alexandros.
-Sorry?
-Alexandros.
-Alexa-dro?
-Alex is okay.
-Okay.
My, ah, wife needs
her Canadian friend.
-You mean my drinking buddy?
-Mm, you mean your whipping boy!
-Yeah, no, my sister-wife.
-Teacher's pet tag team.
-No, stop, ew.
Oh my God, stop.
That man belongs in jail.
-This is delicious.
Professor Rutherford...
We both fucked him.
-Well...
[clears throat]
You are like family here, Maya.
-Thank you, Alex.
- Filarkia. Yeah.
-He is so sweet.
-Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, he likes going down on me,
so that was, you know...
important.
-Incredible.
-I know.
-This is fucking amazing!
I bet you're getting
so much work done here.
-Alex says this is
gonna be the baby's room.
-You're pregnant?
What, we can't drink?
-That's your response?
-Was it an accident?
-Yeah, yeah.
My IUD got lost up inside of me.
-Oh my God.
It did not.
-No!
We took it out.
It was giving me cramps.
Come on.
It's not such a big deal.
I'm...
so happy about this.
-If you have a gender
reveal party, I will...
disown you.
-Please, please!
Anyway, I just want to have fun
with you this week, okay?
-Please let me
wash my body first.
-Okay.
First door upstairs.
-First door upstairs.
-I have to pee.
[shower running]
[birds chirping]
[tools rattling]
[distant voices]
REBECCA: Okay.
-Ela. Ktse.
-Ela.
-Yeah.
-Oh, no, no, no.
That's fine.
You can--
-Come on, come on.
-Okay!
-Sit.
-Well, I've been sitting
on a flight for ten hours, so...
[sighs]
Wow.
-Mm.
-I want to say...
-Yeah?
-Rebecca and Alex...
Congratulations.
-Aw...
Thank you.
-Yamas.
-Your child's gonna be
beautiful. Yamas?
-Yamas.
-Yamas!
-Thank you.
-Yamas, yamas.
[dreampop music
playing on radio]
-I know, I know.
-I can't believe my baby's
gonna have a fucking baby!
-Stop...
I'm gonna cry!
-No!
-Thank you.
Who's that guy in the courtyard,
by the way?
With the motorbike?
-Uh... that's Yan.
-Yan.
-Alex's ex-bandmate.
-Yeah.
My old drummer.
-Okay.
-A drum...
-[door opens]
-Hi.
-Yeah, now he's, uh,
just some bullshit activist.
Ela.
-[catlike sounds]
-[speaking Greek]
-Did you find Rebecca?
-I think so!
-Rebecca!
-Hi, Yan.
[chuckles]
-So I read your last piece
on the New York dom
who killed her client.
Maya...
it was amazing.
-Thank you.
Fuck...
I can't believe
she was convicted.
[men speaking Greek]
MAYA: I was gonna go to Atlanta.
Same thing.
Woman gave her client fentanyl.
And there was a story
in Belgium like this too.
I actually...
Okay, I'm planning
this big piece across
international jurisdiction
looking at sex crimes,
and I have access...
-[groans softly]
-Are you okay?
-[groans]
MAYA: Oh...
-Sorry, this happens.
-You okay?
-Yeah.
-Are you...
-Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick.
I just think I need to lie down.
ALEX: Okay.
REBECCA: Yeah, okay?
MAYA: You-- okay.
-On a nice trip?
-TBD.
To be decide--
like, I don't know yet.
-Okay.
You have any plans?
No?
-She's my plan.
-Well, after the tavli
and the tzatziki and wine,
I'm going to a party.
Huge scene, immigrant DJs.
Um...
many girls.
-Mm.
-You're gonna love it.
-How do you know
what I'd love?
-Oh, I know.
-I know
I'm not that complicated.
Well, did you fix your bike?
-Yeah, wanna try it?
[motorbike rumbling]
[music thudding inside party]
MAYA: Wow.
YAN: Here, here, here.
Take this.
-Oh...
What you got there?
Oh!
[laughs]
Right. Molly?
Uh-huh.
Okay...
Here we go.
[muted voices and music]
YAN: No, no, no, no, no.
[clicks tongue]
No, no, you can't film here.
No.
MAYA: Yeah, I can.
I'm press.
-It's forbidden.
Once we're inside,
it's illegal, okay?
MAYA: Illegal?
YAN: Yeah.
Ah...
It's for safety.
No one violates it.
Come on.
MAYA: Whose safety?
-A lot of people, they don't
have their papers on them.
If they get caught, they
send back to the camps or worse.
-Okay.
-Please.
-Okay.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I got it.
-Mm-hm.
-I'm just gonna
look around a bit.
-Okay.
[music thudding inside party]
[motorbike approaching]
[techno music thudding]
[voices and laughter]
[voices and laughter]
-Oh...
["Ninja Princess" (techno remix)
by Simina Grigoriu playing]
[ethereal interlude]
[beat kicks in]
[breathing echoing]
SAMAR: [voice echoing]
What did you take?
Put your head down...
Near the ground.
Breathe.
[Maya exhales]
MAYA: [voice echoing]
I'm dizzy...
I'll be fine.
I just haven't slept.
I shouldn't have filmed you.
It's just
what I'm used to doing.
It's my job.
I'm a journalist.
-Okay.
-I'm from Toronto.
Where are you from?
-I'm from Kabul.
-Kabul?
[speaking Greek]
[in English]: I thought I lost
you in the wilderness.
What's your name...
[speaking Greek]
[in English] What is your name?
-My name is Yan.
-I'm Maya.
-Samar.
[music thudding inside party]
-I have to go.
MAYA: Wait...
Where can I find you?
SAMAR: Hot Candy.
-Wanna get out of here?
[seagulls calling]
-Fuck.
[heavy breathing]
[moaning softly]
[moaning]
[moaning loudly]
[birds chirping]
[birds chirping]
[waves rolling]
[seagull calling]
[speaking Dari]
[door opening and closing]
REPORTER [in English]
[video] Since seizing power
in 2021,
Afghanistan's
Taliban administration
has taken away
the hard-earned rights
won by Afghan women and girls
during two decades of rule
by American-backed governments
under the leadership of...
-Search for
"Hot Candy, Athens."
[phone beeps]
PHONE: There are three results
for "Hot Candy" in Athens.
[phone ringing]
-[sighs]
Hey, Victor.
VICTOR: [phone] When are you
back at the office?
-I just got here.
VICTOR: Ticket to Brussels,
Maya.
I need your dates.
Hundred K clicks
on the killer dom piece.
We like that.
Hello?
Maya?
MAYA: Met this girl
last night...
VICTOR: Who?
Maya, I need your dates!
REBECCA: [distant]
Come on, Maya!
VICTOR: I need to apply
for a press pass
and Tony's
waiting on you again.
REBECCA: Maya, let's go!
VICTOR: I need to book
your tickets ASAP.
I really need you on this.
And the fixer
only fucking trusts you.
REBECCA: I'm leaving
without you!
-Okay, I got-- I-I can't--
I'll call you back.
I don't-- I...
REBECCA: Maya!
-I'm on vacation, Victor.
I'll talk to you later, okay?
-VICTOR: Maya, I--
-[phone clicks off]
MAYA: I'm coming!
REBECCA: Did you shave?
-[sighs]
REBECCA: Are you wearing
a slutty bikini?
-Yes.
-[slurping loudly]
Thank you.
Did you have fun
with Yan last night?
Where'd he take you?
-A rave.
-Oh my God.
[laughs]
What are you, 16?
Some people
never fucking grow up.
Well, I have way finer plans
for us this week.
Maya...
-Do you think a woman
from Afghanistan
would do sex work here?
-What?
What are you talking about?
-I have a hunch about a woman
I met last night.
-Thank you.
Vacation, Maya.
No hunches allowed.
-Is there a strip club
called Hot Candy?
-Yeah.
Sleazy little place
near Kolokotroni.
You would love it.
-Okay...
Can we go?
-No way.
The smell would do me in.
I really wish you would stop
working for, like, a hot minute.
-I just can't stop thinking.
A queer Afghan sex worker
in Athens.
-It's been done before, Maya.
There were all these stories
here last year about these...
Afghan teenagers,
these boys who would...
suck dick in the parks.
Like, these boys would work
so that their families
could eat,
and their families fucking...
excommunicated them.
[elevated train
rumbling in distance]
[distant voices]
-I was thinking we could
go to Sounio tomorrow
for the day and stay over.
There's this cove there
that I want to take you to,
and there's this
super-cute guest house.
-I'm gonna go to
the strip club tomorrow.
-Mm.
-You should come.
-Asshole-magnet and workaholic.
-[giggles]
-Same old Maya intent.
-Oh, come on.
Fuck you!
[chuckles]
[dreamy house music
with pan flute playing]
[water sloshing]
["Handstand" by
Ty Robinson playing]
Do that shit, do that shit
Do that shit, do that shit
Do that shit, do that shit
Get up on the wall,
make it clap on a handstand
Do that shit, one time,
one cheek, come on
Do that shit, two times,
two cheeks, come on
Do that shit
One time, one time,
one time, one time...
You ain't gotta
talk nice to me
Talk like a freak
Make that ass clap
One time for a nigga,
like...
Two times
for a nigga like...
Ratta-tat-tat, come on,
make it clap
I ain't wastin' time
I ain't with the cappin'
I like it face-down,
ass in the air
Ima make you beg
on ya knees
Yeah, do that for me
Take you on a road day
First stop Celine
Need a foreplay,
I'm headin' in
It's gonna be a cold case,
how I'm killin' it
Do that shit, do that shit
Do that shit, do that shit
Do that shit, do that shit
Get up on the wall,
make it clap on a handstand
Do that shit, one time,
one cheek, come on
Do that shit, two times,
two cheeks, come on
Do that shit
One time, one time,
one time, one time...
Make it clap
on a handstand
Make that ass clap
on a handstand
I ain't Dick Clark
but my bands stand
Americano strong
but it ain't bland...
-Um... Jameson, double.
-Neat?
-Yeah.
Hands on the floor
when ya drop
Shake that ass
like it's yo job
Shit, we need a mop
Do that shit, do that shit
Do that shit, do that shit
Do that shit, do that shit
Get up on the wall, make it
clap on a handstand...
-Hey, can I get myself
one of those?
-Twenty Euro.
-Okay.
Get up on the wall,
make it clap on a handstand
Do that shit, one time,
one cheek, come on
Do that shit, two times,
two cheeks, come on
Do that shit
One time, one time,
one time, one time...
Make it clap
on a handstand...
[music becomes muted]
[man announcing in Greek]
["Who Else?"
by FrvrFriday playing]
Is it too much to ask,
take your time
Know you wanna get
that message off your mind
Makes you scream, gives you
chills down your spine
'Cause I'd love to
treat you like you're mine
I take that much pride
Who else gets you right?
You don't
have to say I'm right
But this should
hold you for the night
The things I'm doing,
don't know why
You play with fire, fire
You play with fire, fire
You play with fire, fire
You play with fire, fire
You don't
have to say I'm right
But this should
hold you for the night
The things I'm doing,
don't know why...
[song ends]
[man announcing in Greek]
[man announcing in Greek]
["Get Over Here" by Mark Roberts
and Patrick Sturrock playing]
It's been a long time comin',
mammy, I'm on a roll
Picture your boy coming
with the fat bankroll, huh?
Stamina, with
a whole lotta attitude
Check out the shine on the
bling that I'm baggin' you
Stylin', profilin',
and they frontin'
You can't trust them boys
'cause they nothin'
They show up
and I begin thumpin'
I bet my whole stack
they get something...
MAN: Hey.
Join us.
-Sure.
-Hello.
-Hello.
[in foreign language]
-This guy.
-But these guys are Polish.
-Yes, Polski.
-Polska.
SAMAR: Polish.
What are you doing here?
MAN: Work.
SAMAR: I see.
Come on, girl, lemme show you
what it's all about...
MAYA: Hey.
Guys, so sorry,
I got one of these.
[man announcing in Greek]
-Sit.
["In the Early Morning"
by Don Slevin playing]
Baby, the way
that you speak cautious
It got me clinging
to your softness
I come with a warning,
but don't men got needs?
And I pray that
it won't change a thing
Something about fallin'
Fallin' free,
fallin' no strings
Girl, I know
you got options
So what I do
to make it me
I know you wanna,
I know you wanna
I know you wanna
fall for me
I know you wanna,
you wanna tell me
Tell me you're
falling hard for me
You're falling for me
And I'm falling for you
I know you're calling on me
And I'm calling on you too
Calling on you,
calling on you
Falling on you,
falling on you
Calling on you,
calling on you
Falling for...
Falling for you.
MAN: Whoa...
[wolf whistling]
[chuckling]
Wow.
-Wow.
-That was hot.
MAN: That was sexy, guys.
MAN: Very.
[speaking Polish]
-[laughs]
That sounds bad, bro.
[indistinct conversation]
MAN: I think I love you...
[indistinct conversation]
[laughter
and indistinct conversation]
SAMAR: I don't want
to ruin your hair.
-Those glasses.
-Yes.
-Oh no, my hair.
My glasses and make-up,
my lips.
-Yeah.
-But the eyebrows.
Your eyebrows.
[laughs]
[indistinct conversation]
MAYA: Samar, I love your shoes.
SAMAR: Thank you!
[laughter]
WOMAN: What is this?
[laughter]
WOMAN: Are those--
are those stripper--
-[laughter and shouting]
-Stop!
[distant music playing]
[indistinct conversation]
[distant music continues]
[traffic sounds]
MAN: Ladies, ladies...
We are offering you...
I dunno, all of this...
-[speaking Polish]
-...to stay and party.
-We like to party.
-We love to party.
-We love to party!
[indistinct conversation]
-Let's go in.
-Room 412.
MAN: Maybe you will
come to our room!
[indistinct conversation]
[water sloshing]
-Oh...
MAN: Careful.
SAMAR: Oh!
[chuckles]
[indistinct conversation
in background]
[Samar speaking quietly]
MAYA: Come here.
SAMAR: What do you want from me?
-I want to tell your story.
And I want to fuck you.
[indistinct conversation
in background]
-Let's get out of here.
-Okay.
[indistinct conversation]
[indistinct conversation]
[speaking Polish]
[indistinct conversation
continues]
SAMAR: Ooh, this party
is getting better and better.
MAYA: This is...
party money...
MAN: The room card.
MAYA: And 412.
Got it.
MAN: Yes. 412.
SAMAR: Thank you.
[indistinct conversation]
[both giggling]
MAYA: Hey!
Woo!
Show me.
MAYA: Oh...
That's hot!
-This is where
they wanted it, right?
-Where else would they want it?
-For sure, they wanted it here!
Or more of it.
[laughing]
MAYA: Whoa!
On the floor.
SAMAR: There's a car coming!
MAYA: Oh my God,
oh my God!
-[car honks]
-[both laughing]
-[car honking]
-Aah!
-Here.
-No...
You, it's yours!
-Ooh!
Ooh-la-la!
[both laughing]
[moaning]
-[passing car honks]
-[people hollering]
-Fuck!
[laughing]
[phone beeps]
-Could we meet
somewhere more private?
-Oh...
-[phone beeps]
Nope.
I want to hear your story.
I want to tell your story--
I--
-Oh my God.
-[phone beeps]
I had a nice time last night.
I--
-No. Fuck.
-[phone beeps]
Fuck that.
[exhales]
[keyboard clicking]
[phone dings]
[exhales]
SAMAR: [voice] After 3,
come to Hatzi Street.
House 7.
-[phone beeps]
-I'll be there.
[phone beeps]
[toilet flushes]
[keyboard clicking]
-[knock at door]
-[door opens]
-I just purged
the last two days of food.
Don't ever get pregnant.
-I won't.
-What are you doing?
-I'm writing about that woman
that I told you about.
-Okay.
What about her?
-Um, profile.
A queer Afghan sex worker.
What brought her here.
Her community,
the refugee scene.
-You smell like pussy.
My sense of smell
is off the charts.
-Well, pussy smells good, no?
-Oh...
-Okay, I came across
this article
by this fucking badass
great journalist, about...
an Afghan girl who was
murdered in Moria last year
for posting a photo of her
and her boyfriend on Instagram.
-Mm-hm.
I remember that.
Maya...
[exhales]
You would never do this,
I trust that you wouldn't,
but it just makes me think,
remember what Rutherford
always said about stories
crossing cultural lines
of understanding?
-Yeah, I remember.
I remember him
fucking me up the ass too.
Did you do that?
-[exhales]
-No? Just me?
Okay.
God, I forgot how much
of a bitch you can be.
-[chuckles]
You love it.
-I know!
I missed you.
-I know.
-Dumbass.
-Bitch.
"A tragic incident...
"at the Moria refugee camp
on the Greek island of Lesbos...
"22-year-old Dhiba
was killed by..."
Maya...
Maya...
[sighs]
-I love this neighbourhood.
Do you live around here?
-Uh, I'm not far.
-Mm-hm.
I read your piece
on the women's prison
and your articles
on the refugee camps,
the situation in Lesbos,
and then the piece
on Dhiba's killing in Moria.
How is it that her family was
able to do that here in Greece?
-Are you writing an article?
What exactly are you asking me?
-I would like to have
a better understanding
of the situation
Afghan refugees are in.
-It's a very
volatile situation here.
Who is granted asylum
and who is not.
-I met a queer Afghan
woman here.
-[phone buzzing]
-Mm-hm.
-And she works
as a dancer at a club.
At a strip club.
-A strip club?
-Yes.
-Very bold.
-Mm-hm.
She's sexual.
She's okay with her sexuality.
-Doubtful.
-No, it's not.
-Are you trying to save her?
-No.
-Good.
[phone buzzing]
-Do you think she's
in a vulnerable situation,
like Dhiba was?
Even though she's not
in the camps; she's in the city.
-So, you are trying to save her.
[phone buzzing]
-I'm so sorry.
I have to take this.
[into phone]
Hi, yeah.
Yes. I'm here.
Yeah...
[speaking Dari]
[phone beeps off]
[train rattling]
[can clatters across
cobblestones]
[Maya sighs]
[motorbike passing]
[distant music playing]
[motorbike passing]
Hi.
I'm here.
Okay.
[exhales]
[door buzzer]
["Hesse Jadid" by
Morteza Pashaei playing]
-Oh, no.
-This stuff is nice.
-I put a little hash in it,
from Turkey.
[hookah bubbling]
I used to be
in a club in college,
the women's nursing union,
but it was really
an underground vinyl club.
-[chuckles]
Okay.
-At our hospital, FMIC,
it's a French hospital,
everyone had love affairs
with the NGO workers.
And we had parties.
Like, such parties.
SAMAR: We could be
whoever we liked.
[man yelling]
[wings flapping]
-Can I record this?
-Sure.
SAMAR: But you can't
show my face.
Only my body.
-Okay.
I'll put it down here...
[camera beeps]
["Hesse Jadid" by
Morteza Pashaei continues]
MAYA: Can I ask you
some questions?
SAMAR: Yes.
MAYA: How long
have you been in Greece?
[music grows quiet]
[distant voices]
[music stops]
[siren blaring]
[people yelling in streets]
[gunshots]
-You are aware what the Taliban
is doing to my country?
-It's terrifying.
You came alone.
Is your family...
still in Afghanistan?
Why did you leave?
-Because I was gay
and cavorting with foreigners.
The Taliban will make me marry.
My family will make me marry.
Can I live my whole life
in this terrible lie?
MAYA: How did you leave?
SAMAR: My friend
gave me a letter.
MAYA: Your friend?
-Frenchman.
NGO worker.
[people yelling]
SAMAR: He told me
I didn't have time.
I had to go
right to the airport.
But when I arrived
to the airport,
there were so many people there,
like walls of people,
that I couldn't
get on the plane.
-So, what did you do?
-I took a bus
from inside the airport
to Iran first, then Turkey.
With smugglers, you know?
-So, you went
from Turkey to Greece?
-Yeah.
In a rubber boat.
Rubber dinghy...
with little children in it.
-Were you scared?
SAMAR: You never believe
in one moment
your whole life could be over.
-Ah!
[phone ringing]
-My brother wants me dead.
[typing on phone]
[phone beeps]
-So, I read
all your stories online.
-Oh.
-You write about sex, yes?
-Mmh, yeah.
-Write about sex clubs.
Dominatrix murder.
Now you want to write about me?
-Yes.
-Why?
-Because I think you're brave.
I think people
should know your story.
[elevated train
rumbling in distance]
-Listen, Maya...
I can't be
in your funky magazine.
There's a guy
who gives me trouble.
A guy from the camp.
He knows my brother
and words get out.
Word reaches far.
[sighs deeply]
-Is he threatening you?
[hookah bubbling]
[distant siren]
[heavy breathing]
[heavy breathing]
[moaning]
[heavy breathing]
[heavy breathing]
[heavy breathing]
[moaning]
[heavy breathing]
[moaning]
[heavy breathing]
[moaning]
[moaning]
[moaning]
[rapid heavy breathing]
[moaning]
[exhales]
[breathing sharply]
[breathing sharply]
[phone ringing]
[distant baby crying]
[ringing continues]
-[inhales sharply]
[softly]
Fuck...
[ringing stops]
-I'm sorry, I gotta go.
[Maya sighs]
[sighs]
Rebecca's gonna kill me.
Okay.
[phone ringing]
[phone ringing]
MAYA: Yeah.
Okay.
[ringing stops]
[men speaking in Greek]
REBECCA: Mm...
Mm-mm!
[conversation in Greek
continues]
REBECCA: I don't like it at all.
It's honestly making me sick
just thinking about it.
[conversation in Greek
continues]
-Alex is right on this one.
I'm sorry.
[conversation in Greek
continues]
-It's because
he's thinking about his own--
his own mom
or something like that.
[conversation in Greek
continues]
-You're thinking about your mom.
-No, my yiayia .
[conversation in Greek
continues]
-English tra .
English.
[speaking Greek]
[Yan exhales]
Lovely sauce.
Uh...
I think you're, er...
multi-talented.
-Mm-hm.
Yeah.
-[chuckles]
-Well, Maya,
you should tell Alex and Yan
what you've been writing about.
Maya came to Greece
to visit me, of course.
And, um...
you found a story
about an Afghan stripper?
Is that right?
-Samar's a stripper?
-You've met Samar?
ALEX: Oh, there is no such thing
as an Afghan stripper.
-Stripping's just a job, Alex.
-Oh, come on, Maya,
don't be so naive.
ALEX: An Afghan woman
would never willingly
sexualize herself.
It's not part of their culture.
-Even I think
it's very, very unlikely.
REBECCA: Yeah.
Yes.
-Well, maybe after everything
that Samar has been through,
stripping is
an act of rebellion.
[Rebecca scoffs]
What, Maya,
are we back in the 1990s?
Stripping is sex-positive
feminism for a refugee?
-Samar is her own person,
with a whole complex life.
Yes, she works at a strip club.
I really don't have to explain,
and I don't need to justify
anything to any of you.
[phone clatters]
-Maya...
[clears throat]
Oh, come on.
Maya, come on.
It was just--
Maya, it's just a conversation.
I...
[door closes]
[kiss]
-Oh, fuck off, Yan.
[tap running]
[distant traffic sounds]
[distant voice on loudspeaker]
[elevated train
rumbling in distance]
[food simmering]
MAYA: [video] How long
have you been in Greece?
SAMAR: [video] Are you aware
of what the Taliban is doing
to my country?
MAYA: It's terrifying.
[fast-forwarding video]
[phone ringing]
SAMAR: My brother
wants me dead.
[fast-forwarding video]
SAMAR: ...write about sex?
[fast-forwarding video]
SAMAR: There's a guy
who gives me trouble.
A guy from the camp.
He knows my brother.
Words get out.
Word reaches far.
[heavy breathing]
-[knock at door]
-YAN: Maya...
Maya, can I come in?
[knock at door]
[heavy breathing continues]
[footsteps receding]
[heavy breathing continues]
[stops video]
[distant music playing]
[phone beeps]
-I wish I was still with you.
MAYA: [voice]
I wish I was still with you.
I wish I was still with you.
I wish I was still with--
[conversation in Dari]
[conversation in Dari
and laughter]
[conversation in Dari
continues]
[phone ringing]
-Hi.
SAMAR: [video call]
Hey.
You look nice.
-So do you.
You look so...
clean.
Fresh.
-Mm-hm.
Dirty thoughts.
MAYA: Are you working tonight?
I could come over.
-Come over.
Come now.
[phone beeps off]
[sound of kissing]
-I missed you.
-I missed you too.
SAMAR: Wait...
I want to remember this.
-Me too.
-I mean...
film us.
-Film this?
Okay.
-I need to look at you
whenever I want.
-Okay.
Where are we...?
-All right.
Here we are,
Maya and Samar.
[camera beeps]
This is for you
to remember me.
[kiss]
MAYA: God, you're hot.
[elevated train
rumbling in distance]
[ominous music]
-[gasps]
[softly]
Stop...
Stop!
MAYA: Who the fuck are you?
Dude, what the--
[yelling]
[speaking Dari]
[glass shatters]
[grunting and thudding]
MAYA: Samar!
-[heavy punch]
-MAYA: Samar!
[high-pitched ringing]
MAYA: Stop!
Get off!
Stop it!
[dramatic music]
MAYA: Oh my God...
[breathing shakily]
[breathing shakily]
Okay...
We need to go to a hospital.
You're bleeding a lot.
We need to go to a hospital,
okay?
Can you get up?
-No.
-Yeah?
Samar...
-No hospital.
No hospital.
No...
[sombre music]
-Is that okay?
-Show me your cam.
MAYA: What?
-Show it to me.
-I don't think
that's a good idea.
-Maya, show me.
Show me.
[camera beeps]
MAYA: [video]
God, you're hot.
SAMAR: [video]
Stop... Stop!
MAYA: Who the fuck are you?
Dude, what the--
[yelling]
MAYA: Samar!
[grunting and thudding]
MAYA: Stop it! Stop!
Get off, get off!
Stop it!
SAMAR: You can see
my face in this.
My whole face.
-You can see his face in this.
He needs to be in jail.
-Oh, you don't understand.
He's allowed to do this.
-No, he's not fucking allowed
to do this.
People aren't
allowed to do that.
-What?
I put my family in danger?
-Your family doesn't
rule your life here.
-Shame is for always.
-What if I posted the video?
With your story.
If I posted the video of...
Victor, my editor,
has dealt with this
kind of situation before,
and he can access
financial support and security.
And then you never
have to go through this again.
-Let me see it one more time.
[camera beeps]
MAYA: [video]
Who the fuck are you?
Dude, what the--
[yelling]
MAYA: Samar!
[grunting and thudding]
MAYA: Stop it!
Stop!
Get off, get off!
Stop it!
[camera beeps]
-Okay.
-Okay to me using the video?
-I just need to sleep now.
Let me sleep.
-Okay.
[keyboard clicking]
[chiming]
[clicks]
MAYA: [video]
Who the fuck are you?
Dude, what the--
[yelling and glass breaking]
MAYA: Samar!
[grunting and thudding]
MAYA: Stop it!
Stop!
Get off, get off!
Stop it!
[traffic sounds]
[birds chirping]
[traffic sounds]
[distant traffic sounds
and birds chirping]
MAYA: [video]
Samar!
[speaking Dari]
[video playing again]
[video playing again]
[video playing]
MAYA: [video]
Samar!
[grunting and thudding]
MAYA: Stop it!
Stop!
Get off, get off!
-[stops video]
-Oh my God.
My God...
[door opens]
[phone ringing]
[phone ringing]
[sighs]
VICTOR: [voice message]
Maya, this thing is blowing up.
Are you seeing this?
Where are you?
Call me!
-Where is she?
-You brought her here?
Why would you do that?
-Where did she go?
-She fucking took off.
-Fuck...
When?
-I don't know, Maya.
I-- five fucking hours ago,
I don't know.
It's the middle
of the fucking day.
-Why didn't you wake me up?
-Oh my God.
-Rebecca!
This is my fault now.
-Fuck, yes!
-Okay.
-I can't believe
you didn't wake me up.
-And I can't believe you posted
a video of her being beaten.
You can see her whole face.
Maya...
[line trilling]
-Do you think I don't know that?
[line continues trilling]
-CNN re-posted it.
-[Samar's voicemail]
-[hangs up]
REBECCA: So did Al Jazeera.
I'm sure you know that.
Did you not anticipate this,
Maya?
It's fucking dangerous for her.
-Rebecca,
she gave me her consent.
Remember?
That's how this works.
-No, I-- the pregnancy,
it must have given me amnesia.
[line trilling]
REBECCA: Will you just stop
doing whatever the fuck
it is that you're doing?
'Cause you're making me sick.
Why would you risk that woman's
life for a fucking story?
-Oh my God, Rebecca!
I just told you,
she gave me her consent.
-"Dead bitch.
Fucks all men."
[exhales shakily]
"Whore, deserved it."
"Allah smiles."
-Are you reading me
fucking internet trolls?
That's not helpful!
-All right,
you're making me sick, Maya.
Honestly, you're--
you're fucking
making me literally sick.
You publish a piece
about an Afghan woman
that people in the community
now know works at a strip club--
-Rebecca!
The video is evidence.
Every single refugee is
registered with the government,
so now the cops can be combing
the camps for this guy.
-Oh my God, Maya!
Maya, you should not
have done this!
-Don't tell me
how to do my fucking job, okay?
You gave up.
-Get out of my fucking house.
[line trilling]
[Samar's voicemail]
[phone beeps]
-Hi, um...
can you just answer your phone?
I just want to make sure
that you're okay.
MAYA: Samar?
[speaking Dari]
Is Samar here?
[speaking Dari]
Do you know where she is?
[tense music]
[Maya grunts in frustration]
[in English] Oh, hey, hey.
Uh, is Samar here?
-Who?
-Samar. Like, uh...
long, brown, curly hair.
Big eyes.
Afghan. Thin.
Samar.
-Not here.
-Okay.
Do you know,
did she come in earlier today?
-You her girlfriend
or something?
I'm not allowed
to talk about the girls.
-Wow.
Fucking fantastic.
[traffic sounds
and indistinct voices]
-I have something I need
to share with you, Myrto.
It's an emergency.
[indistinct voices
and laughter]
-Since we posted the video,
I haven't been able
to get in touch with Samar.
She's not answering her phone.
-And where do you think she is?
-I've looked everywhere
that I can think of.
-I know people.
No cops.
What's her last name?
Maya?
MAYA: Oh my God...
Um, I don't know.
I don't know her last name.
-But she had family here?
-No, she said that someone from
the camps was following her.
Someone who knew her brother.
-So it was arranged
from Kabul, yes?
-I don't think so.
I think that, um...
She said that word about her
travelled fast.
-Okay.
Um...
Samar is likely dead.
-No, she's not.
-Are you this invested
in all of your stories?
MYRTO: Maya...
[phone buzzing]
MYRTO: Walk with me.
I'll tell you something.
When her family sees that video
of her being beaten up,
it might be a good thing.
Of course, it's much better
if they have her body back.
But near dead is sometimes okay.
-I don't understand.
-If a family has proof
that she's been
beaten up very badly,
this so-called shame
that affects the entire family
based on a woman's
sexual infraction,
it can be resolved.
If Samar is thriving, alive...
the family is shunned.
Their reputation is tarnished.
No other daughters
can be married.
The family will never be okay.
-I just want to find Samar.
-I know.
[sighs]
I don't know if you will.
-Victor?
Since when do you
fucking sleep at night?
I need you to call me back!
I need
Reporters without Borders.
I need IRL protections.
I can't find her, and I don't
want any fucking cops.
So don't tell
any fucking cops.
And call me back!
[breathing heavily]
[muted thud and scream]
Fuck...
I shouldn't have
fucking done that.
[muted thud and scream]
[chaotic traffic sounds]
[heavy breathing echoing]
[phone chimes]
[laughs]
I thought you were dead.
-I'm alive.
I think.
-I thought that fucking guy
came back and killed you.
-I'm living, Maya.
Look at me, I'm fine.
-Did they catch that guy?
-I'm illegal here.
My asylum request
got rejected twice,
but with that video,
I have applied
for emergency asylum,
to France.
-That's amazing.
Yeah?
You can, like,
start a whole new life.
-My friend helped me
by doing this to me.
I made the video
and you made your story.
A big story, no?
200,000 likes.
-I don't understand.
-I said okay to being beat.
-The guy that beat you
is your friend?
Oh...
Fuck.
The video's staged?
You used me?
-Maybe.
Maybe you used me too.
[emotional music]
-[crying]
MAYA: Can I come to France?
Can I come to France
and visit you?
[knock at door]
[door opens]
["Antinoe" by Casque D'or
playing]
[speaking Dari]
["Antinoe" by Casque D'or
continues]