True/False Films

Forbidden Lies

In person: director Anna Broinowski.

Sneak Preview. After escaping the brutal misogyny she experienced in Jordan, Norma Khouri told the shocking story of her best friend, murdered by her Muslim father because of an affair with a Christian man. After her book Forbidden Love became an international best seller, Khouri spoke against the practice of "honor killings." But what really happened in Jordan? Is Khouri a world-class con artist? Investigative reporters in Amman and Australia discovered glaring inconsistencies in the book and Random House pulled it from circulation. Director Broinowski takes us deeper into Khouri's story, following her from Chicago to Sydney to Amman and uncovering an unbelievable web of alternate realities and half-truths. Through it all, Khouri maintains the truth of her story, revealing still darker elements as it unfolds. The film becomes a deftly constructed exploration of the problems of representation — call it the true-false dilemma — that we media consumers navigate every day. (JS