Neighbours
Mano Khalil | Switzerland, Kurdistan | 2021 | 124'
In collaboration with
Screenings
Sat 7 May H 14:30
Related events
Section
Original title
Nachbarn
Synopsis
In the early 1980s in a Kurdish village on the border between Syria and Turkey, little Sero has just started school. The new teacher wants to make the Kurdish children good Arab citizens devoted to Assad and enemies of the Jews. With a fine sense of humour and satire, the film tells the story of a childhood that can find light moments in spite of dictatorship and dramatic events. The personal experiences of the director and his memories connect us with the present-day Syrian tragedy.
Cast
Serhed Khalil, Jay Abdo, Jalal Altawil, Tuna Dwek, Mazen al Natour, Havan Naif, Ahmet Zîrek, Nasimah Daher, Jiyan Armanc, Ismail Zagros, Bengi Ali, Derya Uygurlar, Ivan Anderson
Films Distribution
Frame Film
Production
Frame Film
Editing
Mano Khalil
Cinematography
Stéphane Kuthy
Editing
Thomas Bachmann
Language
Kurdish, Arabic, Ebraico
Subtitles
Italian
Premiere
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Main awards
Utopia Prize (Castellinaria Festival), Best Script Award (Red Sea International Film Festival), Best Film (San Francisco Film Critics Award), Best Film (Gangneung Film Festival), Jury Gran Prix (Festival International du Film de Mons), Best Film Award (Berner Filmförderung)
Biography
Mano Khalil was born in Syrian Kurdistan in 1964. He studied history and law at the University of Damascus and in 1987 moved to what was then Czechoslovakia to study film. He worked for Slovakian television until 1996, when he moved to Switzerland where he consolidated is career as a documentary director and in 2021 he founded his production company, Frame Film. In 2021 Neighbours had its world premiere at the Locarno Festival.
Filmography
2021 - Neighbours, ff
2018 - Hafis & Mara, ff
2016 - Die Schwalbe, ff
2013 - Der Imker, ff
2010 - Unser Garten Eden, ff
2007 - David der Tolhildan, ff
2004 - Bunte Träume, ff
1998 - Triumph of Iron, sf