South of the Clouds is a 1950 black and white short documentary film produced by the Protestant Film Commission. Filmed on the campus of the Beirut College for Women, it depicts the progress made by Christian missionary education in the Near East. The story focuses on a Muslim young woman from an aristocratic family who rooms with an orphan Lebanese Christian girl at the college and broadens her personal outlook through education, Christian fellowship, and community service. The film was developed in response to a request by Protestant mission boards functioning under the Missionary Education Movement to assist in their promotion of overseas missionary education. It was distributed through the Religious Film Association for rental to denominational churches throughout the United States.
Synopsis: Through voice-over narration, Najla, a sheltered girl from an aristocratic Muslim family in Damascus, retells her desire to go to college and her traditional family’s grudging acquiescence. Najla immediately feels out of place when she arrives at the Beirut College for Women and witnesses the lack of formality, the democratic milieu of a student body composed of girls from all religions and nationalities, the easy camaraderie between girls and boys, and the outgoing personality of her roommate, a Lebanese Christian orphan named Suad who has been raised by her grandmother. Najla immerses herself in her studies and slowly gets used to fellowship activities with the other students.
Najla is again perturbed when the girls travel to a village to help doctors attend to the sick and needy. Najla feels she is unable to relate to others’ suffering because of her privileged family background, but Suad encourages her that God wants her to help others. Najla’s feelings begin to change when she interacts with underprivileged yet happy children in a neighborhood program. She decides to join Suad as a volunteer in the village during the summer and, while Suad teaches young children, Najla discovers her talents as a nurse. She prays with the rest of the volunteers under the guidance of the pastor and feels a commonality with them. She muses that while she used to live “in the clouds”, enjoying a life of privilege, she has discovered life “south of the clouds”, interacting with other people and trying to meet their needs. On graduation day, when Najla’s and Suad’s families come to see them receive their diplomas, Suad receives word that she has won a scholarship to study in the United States. The headman of the village reminds Suad of her promise to teach in the village after graduation, and Najla decides to take Suad’s place.
1:02-2:28: Introduction to Nla Murad and Her Background. The film introduces the land “South of the clouds” (the Levant), focusing on Damascus. The narrator, **Nla Murad**, is from an old, aristocratic Muhammadan family and takes pride in her home’s age and tradition, viewing her life as sheltered and glorious.
2:28-3:33: Nla’s Decision to Attend College. An argument arises in Nla’s tranquil home: her brother, **Ahmed**, successfully argues that she should attend college at **Beirut** to become educated and intelligent, overcoming their mother’s opposition.
3:35-4:15: Introduction to Soad Yousef. In a mountain village, **Soad Yousef**, a Christian girl from hardy, independent Lebanese stock, prepares for college. Her people are common, unpolished, but respected for never having surrendered to a conqueror.
4:50-6:19: Arrival at Beirut College for Women. Soad is imagined to be popular with a tearful farewell from her townspeople. Nla and Soad both head to the **Beirut College for Women**, a democratic institution that accepts girls from all nations, religions, and classes across the Arab world. Nla’s mother disliked its lack of exclusivity but was whisked away before she could argue further.
6:20-8:23: Nla and Soad Become Roommates. Nla experiences “rude jolts” from the beginning, feeling embarrassed by the familiarity and lack of special treatment. The rudest shock is discovering she must **share her room** with a “country girl.” Nla establishes a cool, proper relationship, but soon learns Soad is a good soul, independent, and sponsored by the Christian Mission because her family is too poor. Soad is undisturbed by rooming with an aristocrat.
8:24-11:47: College Life and Personal Differences. Nla is calm about meeting people, but Soad is immediately gay and chattering, seeming to know all 200-plus girls in the student body. A teacher enters and leads the singing of a Christian hymn, which Nla is unable to join, making her feel lonely and strange. She’s grateful when the teacher approaches her, sensing she is unhappy. Later, Nla shares photos of her sheltered, glorious family life. She then learns that Soad is an **orphan** who lives with her grandmother in an “awful little house,” making it difficult for Nla to mask her feelings.
11:48-14:48: Nla Adapts to Fellowship. School work and learning stimulate Nla, but aspects of school life repel her, such as pop dancing in peasant costumes, which Soad enjoys. Nla is shocked when a boy from the University appears, as an unmarried girl of her position does not meet strange men unchaperoned, and her husband will be selected by her father. Gradually, Nla slips into the college pattern, where **social differences dissolve** in what they call “fellowship,” which brings her the happiest time of her life.
14:52-16:40: The Sidon Clinic Fieldwork. Near the end of the first year, Nla’s Sociology class requires fieldwork. She is assigned to assist at a clinic in **Sidon**, which is flooded with miserable refugees. The sight and odor of the people, and the grim atmosphere, are unbearable to Nla, who has never faced suffering before. She cannot touch or help the people, feeling they are beneath and beyond her. She finally leaves, feeling inferior to her friends and ashamed.
16:46-17:49: Soad’s Compassion. Soad takes Nla to the roof, a lovely place where the city spreads like a mosaic. Soad’s understanding calms Nla, making her feel small and insignificant—the first time she sees herself in perspective. The next day, Soad takes Nla to the **Neighborhood House**, a college nursery, and arranges for Nla to do her fieldwork there, understanding that Nla can be better than herself there.
17:57-20:25: Nla’s Transformation and Fellowship. Nla is immediately taken in by the adorable, clean, and gay children. She begins to forget herself, desiring to give the children care and affection. The experience makes her feel drawn even closer to the other girls; they share a common experience that enriches their lives. Nla, the aristocrat, is now **lost in laughter** with girls of every station—Protestants, Jews, Maronites, Greeks—realizing she had discovered privilege instead of abandoning it.
20:26-23:00: The Work Camp Challenge. In their second year, a young Christian doctor named **Ibrahim Farz** asks for volunteers for a college **Work Camp** next summer in the village of **Ayak** to assist with primitive conditions. Nla is still repelled by the thought of dirt, disease, and distress, and runs away again when she freezes at the thought of volunteering. Soad invites Nla for a walk, leading her through the modern section to a **refugee camp**. Soad challenges Nla and speaks of her Christian faith, saying God wants them to make a better world and will give them the strength they need. Listening to Soad, Nla finds the strength she lacked to volunteer.
23:18-28:28: The Ayak Work Camp. That summer, Nla is brought down to the Earth and its people. She finds beauty in common scenes she would have once ignored. They pitch tents on a hillside and meet the dignified village headman. The students instruct farmers in modern agriculture to improve their living standards. Soad teaches the children of Ayak how to read and write, proving to be a marvelous, patient teacher. Nla, who had feared coming, asks to be assigned to the **Dispensary** and becomes quite proficient—a “natural nurse,” which she considers the highest compliment. In the evenings, they worship together, and Nla, feeling close to God, doesn’t feel it wrong to join the Christians in prayer. The headman asks them to return next summer, and Soad promises to return to teach after graduation.
28:39-31:50: Graduation and Apprehension. The remaining college years fly by. Nla watches them slip by with apprehension, realizing this is the hour of freedom; afterward, she must return to her walled existence, marry a stranger, and wear the veil. Commencement arrives. Nla wonders if it will be a beginning or an end. The graduation ceremony includes an invocation and an address calling upon the class to lead the way to a new era. Nla is touched by the pride of her parents and Ahmed, and sees Soad and her grandmother celebrating the fruit of their sacrifices.
32:22-33:43: Soad’s Scholarship and Promise. Soad excitedly tells Nla she has been awarded a **scholarship to continue her studies in the United States**. The headman of Ayak arrives, congratulates them, and reminds Soad of her promise to return to his village as a teacher. Nla is crushed, knowing Soad is not one who fails in her promises.
33:44-36:26: Nla’s Decision and New Path. Seeking solitude, the friends go to a special place. Nla’s mind soars as she contemplates Soad’s dilemma. She sees her own life ahead in Damascus society as cultured, superficial, and a “life in the clouds,” removed from reality. She realizes she cannot endure an existence where she would have to silence the concern she discovered in her heart, which brought her the purest happiness of her life. Remembering the hope she gave and received at Ayak, Nla realizes she must find her identity in the midst of mankind. She tells Soad Yousef that **she will go to the village in her place**. Soad’s path will carry her overseas, but Nla’s will bring her back to the land “south of the clouds,” where she will seek the meaning of herself.
