Synopsis

The saying that violence begets violence has never rung truer than in Talal Derki’s latest work. As with his earlier film Return To Homs, Derki returns to his homeland to immerse himself at the frontline of the Syrian conflict. This time, he spends two years with the family of Abu Osama, a devout Jihadist and al-Nusra fighter, in a village where children play among the detritus of the war.

Abu’s sons worship their father, and Abu adores them in return, urging them to follow in his footsteps as a soldier of God in a systemic perpetuation of his radical Islamic beliefs. Derki’s remarkable access captures an intimate, disquieting portrait of Abu and his family that contrasts tenderness and childish innocence with extreme militarism, putting a human face to the power of religious zeal and fundamentalist fervour.

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