Nervous Translation (2018)

Shy yet quietly observant, 8-year-old Yael spends her days cooking miniature meals, watching television, and listening to cassette tapes her father sends home from Riyadh. When she discovers a pen that promises to translate the thoughts and feelings of nervous people, Yael is determined to spend all her savings on it. Set in 1987 during the aftermath of the People Power Revolution, Nervous Translation captures a time of political and cultural precarity through the naive yet perceptive eyes of a child who longs to be heard.