Doomed Love Trope

Featuring artist Zahra Mansoor and shot entirely in her studio in Aubervilliers near Paris, France, "Doomed Love Trope" blurs the boundary between performance art and narrative cinema. The painter obsessively depicts women reclining on a sofa in her studio. At first, it appears she is consumed by a forbidden love—perhaps one of the many women she's immortalized on canvas. But as the story unfolds, it is revealed that the true object of her affection is the sofa itself. In a futile attempt to consummate this surreal romance, she tries to marry the sofa. Rejected by both society and the inanimate object of her desire, she spirals into heartbreak and ultimately dies, consumed by longing.

Zahra Mansoor (Director, Writer, Painter) Juliet Lazek (DOP, camerawoman) Tara Tess Vatanpour (Guardian) Keerthana Karthikeyan (Witness) Chloe Meurens (Witness) Terence Berchman (Officiant)

Special thanks to: Abi Tariq & Honi Ryan Tessa Makai Maya Razvi Fiona McDonnell Pooja Lucie Willmann Mara Heussaff Damini Kulkarni Nazish Munchenbach

Screened at Cinema 73, Karachi, Pakistan on January 14, 2026 as part of programming surrounding a painting show at Sanat gallery entitled "Fanaa is the Eclipse."