Maktoub
The Ask: To tell a story using essential cinematography techniques such as camera angles, camera movements, composition, lens choice, and lighting as well as location, actors, styling of clothes, makeup and hair and so forth, (instead of through dialogue and exposition).
Maktoub is a dialogue-free short film that uses cinematography, movement, and visual nuance to portray a shift from disappointment to possibility. The story follows Luna, a woman who begins her day on a coffee date with her inattentive boyfriend—someone so absorbed in his phone, staring at other women, and dismissing everyone around him that he fails to notice her entirely. Through deliberate framing and subtle camera choices, we feel Luna’s growing detachment as the gap between them widens.
When she finally walks away from the relationship, the emotions are captured through visual contrast: her isolation at the table and the small moment of stillness as she opens a book to comfort herself. It’s here the narrative shifts. The friendly and familiar waiter sits with her for a brief, but genuine exchange. Their connection is gentle and natural, which is exactly what Luna needed in that moment.
That budding conversation ends abruptly when Luna realizes she’s late for a meeting and rushes out, accidentally leaving her scarf behind. The waiter notices and races after her, returning it with a breathless smile. Their final shared look marks the film’s value change: from being overlooked to being seen; from settling to opening herself to something… real.
Maktoub becomes a quiet reminder that sometimes the most meaningful stories unfold in the smallest gestures, and that visual storytelling can reveal the heart long before words ever could.