hAGAR
It's not easy being SEEN.
Coming Soon
This StoryLogian documentary pulls on the thread of Hagar's story through theology, history, and the testimonies of women who have lived it... women who were sent away, cast aside, survived the wilderness, and discovered they, too, were seen.
ABOUT THIS FILM
Hagar is a contemplative documentary that “steps into the” the biblical story of Hagar from the Hebrew Bible while exploring its profound resonance in the lives of women today. Faithful to the account in the Book of Genesis, the film traces Hagar’s journey from servant in Abraham’s household to a mother cast into the wilderness with her son, Ishmael. In the desolation of the desert, she encounters the God who sees her, naming Him “El Roi,” the God who sees.
Through a meditative visual style inspired by Cinema Divina, the film interweaves the ancient narrative with modern voices and imagery. Women from diverse cultural backgrounds embody Hagar’s presence across time, revealing how her story echoes in experiences of displacement, survival, motherhood, and divine encounter today.
Hagar Teaser
Shot amid sweeping desert landscapes and moments of quiet reflection, Hagar invites viewers into a contemplative journey where scripture, lived experience, and spiritual formation converge. The result is not simply a retelling of an ancient story, but an invitation to encounter the God who sees the unseen.
"I wrote my thesis on Hagar and was required to center Abraham. This film is the scholarship I was never allowed to finish."
— Dr. Shonda Carter
Hi, I'm Dr. Shonda Carter
Director, Producer, Writer, & Editor
Some films are chosen. This one was owed.
I always thought Hagar had "main character" energy so I eagerly decided to write my master's thesis about her. But I soon discovered that my main character and I were required, by the institution, to center Abraham as though he were the protagonist of her story. I finished the thesis. I received the degree. And I carried the heartbreak of that for years: the experience of being a Black woman scholar, writing about a marginalized woman in Scripture, told to make room for the patriarch.
That is Hagar's story. It is also mine. And it is the story of more women than I can count.
I did not set out to make a film. I set out to finish the argument I was never allowed to complete.
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Every frame of Hagar was shaped by that debt — to her, to the women who recognize themselves in her, and to the question God asked in the wilderness that nobody in my academic program wanted me to linger on: "Where have you come from, and where are you going?"
I am Dr. Shonda Carter, spiritual director, theologian, and founder of StoryLogian. I hold a doctorate in Spiritual Formation and Soulcare from Biola University's Talbot School of Theology. I work every day with women who are standing exactly where Hagar stood: seen by God, overlooked by their communities, carrying more than they were ever supposed to carry alone.
This film is for them.
And it is finally, completely, unambiguously hers.
Experts, Scholars, Artists, etc.
Hagar is in active production. The scholars, artists, and theologians below bring the full weight of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam to bear on her story. Because Hagar was always bigger than the room she was put in.
