Variance Films will release Scales, the debut feature film by Saudi Arabian writer/director Shahad Ameen that premiered at the 2019 Venice International Film Festival’s Critics’ Week, where it won the Verona Film Club Award.

The film was selected as Saudi Arabia’s Official Oscar® entry for Best International Feature Film at the 2021 Academy Awards, Saudi Arabia’s fourth ever submission in the history of the Oscars®.

Scales will open in theaters on July 9th at IFC Center in New York and Laemmle’s Royal in Los Angeles with rollout to follow.

Scales is a visually stunning feminist parable set in a dystopian landscape. It follows the story of a strong-willed young girl, Hayat, whose poor fishing village is governed by a dark tradition: every family must give one daughter to the mermaid-like sea creatures who inhabit the waters, to ensure the village can continue their fishing expeditions. When Hayat’s father refuses, the girl becomes a pariah, considered a curse by the village and urged to sacrifice herself – but Hayat has her own ideas about her destiny.

Watch the official trailer for Scales