In the early 1980s in a Syrian border village, six-year-old Sero dreams of watching cartoons on TV like the city kids. The inhabitants of his small town live harmoniously, eagerly anticipating the day electricity will come. But things begin to change when a stern stranger from Damascus arrives to instruct the local children. When the new teacher begins preaching hatred of Jews, Sero struggles to reconcile this with his beloved neighbors, a friendly Jewish family, prompting a rude awakening to the realities and absurdities of nationalism. Informed by his own real-life experiences, Kurdish-Swiss director Mano Khalil's Neighbours is a poignant yet unsentimental look at war through the eyes of a child. Serhed Khalil's unaffected performance as Sero anchors the film with sincerity and a necessary touch of levity. The result is a powerful exploration of humanity and the roots of hatred. Winner, Audience Award, San Francisco Jewish Film Festival; Best Script, Red Sea Film Festival.
Director Biography
Born in 1964 in Qamishli, Syria, Mano Khalil studied history and law at Damascus University and directed the documentaries David der Tolhildan (2007), Our Garden of Eden (2010), The Beekeeper (2013) and the feature films Bunte Träume (2004), Die Schwalbe (2016), and Neighbours (2021), his most recent film.
Sponsors
