A short film by Tasnim Hindeyeh
After fleeing Gaza, two Palestinian sisters rebuild their lives as housekeepers in Chicago. But when May’s breast pump begins to fail, the fragile routine holding her together starts to unravel.
The story
MILK is a 12 to 15 minute narrative fiction film following May, a Palestinian woman rebuilding her life in Chicago after being displaced from Gaza.
Living with her older sister, Fatimah, and their brother in a cramped apartment, May spends her days cleaning rooms beside Fatimah in a run-down motel.
Over the course of one day, May carries a breast pump from room to room, tucked inside her bag like something private and necessary. As the pump begins to fail, the fragile routine she has built around it starts to break, bringing her closer to what she has been carrying all along.
Quiet resolve, mid-journey
The world of MILK
A visual language of close observation—natural light, worn institutional spaces, and frames that hold tenderness and confinement at once.
Naturalistic and available—motel windows, fluorescent bathrooms, television glow, and the faint blue of the breast pump.
Soft pastel hues that keep lightness in the frame while respecting the gravity of what the sisters carry.
Intimate and observational, with restrained handheld movement that stays close to May’s private routine.
Why this film
Milk is deeply personal, inspired by my journey into motherhood and the emotional changes that came with it. As a Palestinian artist, I feel a profound responsibility to preserve stories that risk erasure, while exploring survival in its most intimate form: through the body, through labor, through silence, and through the routines that keep us moving.
My father left Palestine in 1961, leaving behind a history I carry with me, even without ever having visited our homeland. Through May’s failing breast pump, I wanted to explore how memory, survival, and absence can live inside the smallest routines.
Production
From fundraising through a three-day Chicago shoot, MILK is moving toward festivals in late 2027.
Now–early 2027
Late summer 2026
3-day Chicago shoot · end of March 2027
March–September 2027
Fall 2027 onward · ~1.5 years
Meet the team
A Chicago-based team of filmmakers grounded in culturally specific, human stories.
Writer / Director
Tasnim 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 the founder of Salt + Soil Agency, a creative and cultural production studio.
Producer
Gustavo 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 and Veronica Falcón, which opened the Santa Fe Film Festival and screened at Heartland International and Tallgrass.
Impact Producer / 1st AD
Sumana 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 Islamic Scholarship Film Fund in 2023, she is driven by storytelling that uplifts her community and highlights pressing social issues. Her debut short, Make Them Proud, shot in NYC with an all-WOC crew, explores mental health and the eldest daughter experience in South Asian culture.
Art Director
Ava is a Chicago-based production designer with a BFA in Film and Television from Columbia College Chicago. Her art department credits include FX’s The Bear, HBO’s Somebody Somewhere, and Apple TV+’s Shining Girls, alongside independent films and commercials. She also helps curate the Chicago Palestine Film Festival as a key member of its film procurement team.
Help us tell this story
Your support helps bring a deeply personal Palestinian story to the screen—with care, specificity, and the creative freedom it deserves.