When Jihan Kikhia was six years old, her father flew to Cairo and never returned. Her mother began searching for him, launching her family into an international political maze. This documentary takes the audience on a raw and reflective journey as Jihan pieces together a father she barely remembers, while unraveling his disappearance, which is shrouded in mystery to this day.

 

Mansur Rashid Kikhia, was the former foreign minister of Libya, ambassador to the United Nations, and a human rights lawyer. In 1980, he defected fro. the Libyan government, becoming the peaceful opposition leader to Qaddafi's brutal regime. Kikhia was a rising star, obsessively loyal to his country, and his leadership created a threat. Ultimately, Kikhia's determination to always reason with his "brother" Qaddafi led to his disappearance, torture, and death. In 2012, Kikhia's body was found frozen and fully intact in a secret location near Qaddafi's palace.

 

Using a combination of creative instinct and quick wit, Jihan's mother, Baha Omary Kikhia, a Syrian-American artist, became and unexpected player in a dangerous political game with some of the most powerful politicians I the world. Her mission would lead her to the Libyan desert in the middle of the night, alone face to face with Qaddafi to negotiate her husband's release.

 

Jihan's journey starts from her loss of memory and self doubt and leads to encounters with her family, father's peers, and archives that reactivate her connection to her father and her Libyan identity. Hoping at first that her path might finally lead to uncovering the truth, Jihan instead transforms the mystery into a curiosity that brings her closer to her father and gives her hope for their country.

 

As the director and main character, the film in navigated from Jihan's perspective, as she tries to understand the country that both created her father and also killed him. She approaches politics not as an external or distant subject, but as a lived experience that  penetrates deeply into every human relationship - even between a little girl and her father.