In a Syrian border village in the 1980s, young Sero goes to school for the first time. A stern and oppressive teacher who wants to turn Kurdish children into strong Pan-Arab comrades is appointed. He forbids them to use the Kurdish language and teaches them to hate Jews. Sero, who has been close with a neighboring Jewish family for a long time, is confused. With a sensitive sense of comedy and satire, the film shows how absurd this violent world is through the eyes of an innocent child who never stops dreaming even in the darkest moments of a dictatorship. It is painful to watch as Sero, a little child whose only wish is to have a TV to watch cartoons, is forced to grow up too fast as he comes to understand the pain of the adults around him. The film was inspired by the director's autobiographical experiences. His retrospective gaze on his bittersweet childhood overlaps with the ongoing Syrian tragedy, and sheds light on a timely subject.

2021 Locarno International Film Festival
2021 Shanghai International Film Festival

Mano KHALIL

Mano Khalil studied fiction film direction in the former Czechoslovakia. Worked as an independent film director for Czechoslovakian and later for Slovakian Television. Since 1996 lives in Switzerland, he has worked as an independent film director and producer. He grounded the production film company Frame Film.