This week is our second installment of our collaborative series in partnership with Free the Work, which is a curated talent-discovery service of underrepresented creators. Free the Work is a non-profit founded by Alma Ha’rel, whom we recently interviewed. Check out their new platform at freethework.com

For our second episode of this series, we interviewed Minhal Baig, writer/director of Hala. Hala is her debut feature film, about a Muslim teenager coping with the unraveling of her family as she comes into her own. It premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Hala is out in theaters today, and on Apple TV+ on December 6. Enjoy!

HALASeventeen-year-old Pakistani American teenager Hala struggles to balance desire with her familial, cultural and religious obligations. As she comes into her own, she grapples with a secret that threatens to unravel her family.