Internet hoax’s cruel twists

The events traced in the documentary “A Gay Girl in Damascus: The Amina Profile” will be familiar to many; for others, they present a progression of jaw-dropping twists. Either way, Sophie Deraspe’s film is a compelling anatomy of an Internet hoax — one that grabbed headlines amid the revolutionary fervor of the Arab Spring.

It’s also a cautionary love story. That intimate slant propels this case study, though the gullibility and lack of accountability that are detailed pertain as much to Web-based journalism as to the seductive bubble of sexting. Through the point of view of Montreal resident Sandra Bagaria, a friend of the director’s, the film recreates a fast-deepening online flirtation. The object of Bagaria’s affection, Amina Arraf, is an out and proud lesbian blogging from the front lines of the 2011 uprising in Syria.

Amina’s accounts of violence in the streets and encounters with the secret police galvanized the blogosphere and attracted attention from the mainstream press. When Amina was arrested, her followers launched social media campaigns to free her, sparking a U.S. State Department probe and leading to a mounting series of investigative dead ends.

Deraspe deftly interweaves news footage with impressionistic images and reenactments, the effect intentionally murky. It’s a fitting visual scheme for the saga’s unsettling blend of fact and fiction. In more straightforward talkinghead segments, journalists and activists deconstruct their fascination with Amina, detailing the digital forensics they used to determine her true identity.

The globe-trotting doc culminates in a deeply uncomfortable confrontation, complete with half-hearted apology. But Deraspe overstates the emotional power of the encounter. It’s not Bagaria’s wounded gaze that haunts, but the culture-appropriating culprit’s sense of entitlement, all in the name of storytelling.

“A Gay Girl in Damascus: The Amina Profile.” No MPAA rating. Running time: 1 hour, 25 minutes. Playing: Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills. Also on video on demand.