DC Area Premiere

If the exploitation, abuse, torture and murder of women are rampant global atrocities, then why not cash in on them? In 2003, Norma Khouri’s book Forbidden Love became an international bestseller that stunned readers with the gruesome true story of her best friend’s murder at the hands of her Muslim family. Khouri chronicled the inhumane situation for women in Jordan, and her exposé won acclaim from the literary community and human rights organizations.

In 2004, an Australian journalist exposed Khouri’s book as a complete fabrication, and others around the world began dismantling her façade bit by bit. In FORBIDDEN LIE$, filmmaker Anna Broinowski reconstructs Khouri’s peak and her downfall, but by that point, the film is just warming up. The real intrigue begins when Broinowski follows Khouri on her quest to clear her name. A trip to Jordan to verify the details in the book turns into an incessant series of mind games to which not even Broinowski is immune.

Shot with an invasive and engaging style, FORBIDDEN LIE$ crisscrosses the globe to peel back layer upon layer of truths, half-truths, and outright lies. Along the way, we meet journalists, FBI agents, an outraged women’s rights activist in Jordan, and an assortment of just plain sleazy characters. Shocking beyond belief, Broinowski’s study of Khouri forces us to question the stories we believe and why we are so willing to believe them.

—Deborah L. Jaramillo