Nezouh

Pitch

In the midst of the Syrian conflict, 14-year-old Zeina and her parents are among the last remaining residents of their besieged neighborhood in Damascus. When a missile blows a gaping hole in their home, Zeina discovers a window that opens onto a world of unimaginable possibilities. She enjoys sleeping under the stars and befriends Amer, a neighbor her age. As the fighting intensifies, Zeina and her parents are forced to leave, but her father is determined to stay in their home. He refuses to be a refugee. Faced with a life-or-death dilemma, Zeina and her mother must make a decision. "No one wants to leave everything behind, to abandon their homeland, their memories, their identity, to become a stranger, with all the stereotypes that come with it. You only do it when your life is threatened. That's why I decided that the father's character would categorically refuse to leave his home, even when the situation becomes dangerous, so that viewers realize that staying at all costs is madness. I hope they will then understand why people are sometimes forced to go into exile." Soudade Kaadan