Australia
Writer/Director: Dee Dogan
Producer: Bethany Bruce
Genre: Drama
The journalistic aspirations of a Kurdish teenager boil over in her community when she spills the tea instead of serving it.
Helin Moso, an 18-year-old aspiring journalist, has a lot to say about her small placein the big world. But her Kurdish family fears her stories will damage their reputationin the community. When her English teacher spurs her to enter a prestigious writing competition, everything changes. Unwilling to be held back, and despite her parent’s warning, Helin writes about the tea ceremonies that are a cornerstone of Kurdish life, where the women serve tea for the men to enjoy. As she searches for answers, she discovers a tragic secret about her sister, forcing the family to rethink its cherished values. Ahead-of-her-time and curious as ever, Helin’s fight for self-respect pushes her loved ones to the brink — and, in a bittersweet moment, when her story is published, she finds that being true to yourself can sometimes mean disappointing the people you love.
A CUP OF TEA is a delicious brew of testing boundaries and conquering overlooked battles.