Jordanian/Palestinian film maker Mahmoud al Massad, who lives in the Netherlands, got inspired by his reporting for international news agencies, and returned to Zarqa, Jordan where he grew up, to film this documentary. Zarqa is the second largest city and its political Islamists are a powerful force in this industrial centre. Zarqa was also the birthplace of Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the brutal leader of Al Qaeda before he was killed by American forces in 2005. Many in town knew Al Zarqawi, many of his family remain, and Zarqa continues to be a source of new recruits to the jihadist cause.
Mahmoud al Massad returned to the city with a hdv camera and followed the daily life of Abu Amar, a man in his forties and an ex-mujahideen who has fought in Afghanistan. Nowadays Abu Amar, not a very successful merchant, has to support his two wives and eight children by collecting cardboard in the streets. He is accompanied by his beloved young son. He is also writing a book on Jihad for which he cannot find a publisher. Continuing debates with his neighbours or friends reveal an inside look of people on the situation in the Middle East. As Abu Amar reads out the text about infidels leaving the Islamic countries for a better economic situation elsewhere, the film moves towards a surprising ending. An intriguing documentary shot in a wonderful painting-like way. (LC)
Film details
- Countries of production
- France, Germany, Jordan, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, USA
- Year
- 2007
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2008
- Length
- 78'
- Medium/Format
- 35mm
