Author:

A film by Adina Azar Khan – in production

Under the Walnut Tree: A Tale of Five Sisters is an intimate portrait of five sisters bound by a profound connection. At once deeply personal and quietly political, the film reflects the lives of women in Dagestan during two turbulent eras: the Chechen wars of the 1990s and today’s ongoing conflicts. Set in the small town of Kizilyurt, it is a poetic meditation on resilience, sisterhood, and survival in the face of violence and societal pressure.

Through the lens of a VHS camera, Madina—mother of the filmmaker—documented everyday moments before, during, and after her migration. Filmed during the volatile years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, this home footage offers rare glimpses into an inner world the sisters created for themselves—a sanctuary behind walls and woven carpets. In the quiet of birthday celebrations, New Year’s gatherings, and small, shared rituals, they found light amid the darkness.

Even within this closed domestic space, the outside world presses in: television broadcasts filled with Russian propaganda, the haunting call to prayer (azan), and whispers exchanged at the kitchen table.

Now, filmmaker Adina picks up the camera where her mother left off. Traveling between Belgium and Dagestan, she sets out to bridge generations and stitch together the stories of two eras—and two wars. With a tender, observant eye, she follows her mother and aunts closely, using audiovisual poetry and a blend of documentary and theatrical storytelling to reveal the unspoken, the hidden, and the quietly enduring.

Through old letters and archival footage that echo from the past, scenes of daily life in the present, and theatrical vignettes where each sister shares her dreams through the seasons, Adina crafts a moving portrait of interior lives—lives that were never given space to fully bloom, where the sorrow of repeated violence lingers just beneath the surface.

SUPPORTED BY THE FLANDERS AUDIOVISUAL FUND (VAF) OF THE GOVERNMENT OF FLANDERS