Of Fathers and Sons - Die Kinder des Kalifats

Of Fathers and Sons - The Children of the Caliphate

After his Sundance award-winning documentary "The Return to Homs", Talal Derki goes back to his homeland, gains the trust of a radical Islamist family and shares their daily life for over two years. His camera focuses mainly on the children, providing an extremely rare insight into what it means to grow up with a father whose only dream is to establish an Islamic Caliphate. Osama, 13, and his brother Ayman, 12, are at the centre of the story. They both love and admire their father and obey his words, but while Osama seems to be following the path of Jihad, Ayman wants to go back to school. The film captures the moment when the children have to let go of their youth and are finally turned into Jihadi fighters. No matter how close the war comes, one thing they have already learned: they must never cry.

Source: 69. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)