Of Fathers and Sons

A film by Talal Derki. In Arabic with German subtitles.

Talal Derki, a Syrian director, returns to his homeland looking for answers; he wants to understand what makes people radicalize, driving them into the hands of the so-called “Islamic State”. Talal gains the trust of a radical Islamist family and observes the daily life of its members for more than two years. His camera mainly focuses on the children, providing an extremely rare insight into what it means to grow up with a father who is a member of a jihadist organisation. Osama and his brother Ayman both love and admire their father and obey his orders. However, while Osama plans to follow the path of radicalisation, Ayman prefers to go back to school.