Two lifelong friends, Qusay and Nabil, drift through dreams, archival footage and present-day events as they trace a shared history of resistance both in exile and in Syria. When violence returns, they hold onto a deep comradeship that binds them across time and distance.
“We should keep on seeing and remembering.” Lifelong friends, Qusay and Nabil, speak across dreams, archives and video recordings. They trace a shared history of resistance, from marching alongside each other in the Syrian revolution at 16 and, years later, taking to the streets of Berlin to demand justice for Palestine. The dream of returning to an olive grove never leaves their sight. When the Assad regime falls, only Nabil is able to travel home. There he encounters a precarious new order, where danger still looms.
In her debut feature, Rand Abou Fakher crafts a hybrid film that centres care and tenderness as radical forms of resistance. The camera acts as witness, companion, and at times, helpless observer. When violence overwhelms the frame, Abou Fakher turns the gaze towards long, intimate shots of hands touching, soothing, embracing, as if to reclaim the haptic dimension of the image and reawaken the bonds that violence seeks to numb.