Pearls and Black Gold

Pearls and Black Gold, crosses cultures and continents. With tragic-comedy moments, it follows three generations of an Arab family, whose lives mirror the mixed blessings that oil brings to their desert land. The saga begins before oil money changes centuries of tradition, when poverty drives a young boy, Hamza, from his oasis home to hunt pearls in the Arabian Gulf. His son Zain, is among the first to get a scholarship abroad. Zain’s travels take him to London where he meets Emma, but fate intervenes and he returns to his country and an arranged marriage. By chance, he and Emma meet again, they marry, and have two daughters. In the space of a few years, Zain loses both his wives in tragic circumstances. His third wife Nadine, has a troubled relationship with his daughters, Dana and Jumana. The older girl, Dana, rejects the norms of her patriarchal society and chooses her own husband. The young couple travel to England where Dana aspires to education and independence. On their return to their homeland, despite creeping modernity, Dana fails to find work in her chosen profession. She overcomes her marital problems to find fulfilment in unexpected and unorthodox situations. The happiness which has eluded her till now, may at last be attained on the cusp of the twenty first century in New York.