With a fine sense of humour and satire, the film tells of a childhood, which, between dictatorship and dark drama, also has its light moments. How much friendship, love and solidarity are possible in times of repression and despotism?
UKJF: Neighbours■
Synopsis
In a small Syrian village on the border with Turkey in the 1980s, Sero, a Kurdish boy, attends school for the first time. His teacher is a supporter of pan-Arabism who requires his students to refrain from speaking Kurdish and shares his staunch anti-Zionist and antisemitic sentiments with them.
Sero tries to make sense of the different nationalist forces at play, and to square his teacher’s views on the Jewish state and Jews in general with the kindness of his neighbours, a Jewish family. Inspired by the director's personal experiences, Neighbours offers a compassionate, bittersweet look at childhood in the shadow of war.
Sponsored by Edward Azouz
Credits
Genre: Drama
Director: Mano Khalil