Synopsis
The Molenbeek district of Brussels. In media seen as jihadi capital but home sweet home to the 6 year-old boys Aatos and Amine. Together they search for answers to the big questions. Aaatos envies Amine’s Muslim faith and looks for his own gods, although his classmate Flo questions him; she is strongly convinced that anyone who believes in God is completely nuts.
The threat of the adults world suddenly interrupts the children’s play as terrorist bombs explode in a metro station nearby. The streets are filled with tanks, armed soldiers and policemen. Bedtime stories now evoke images of violence and even friendship is put on trial until an expected twist reshapes their lives for good.
REVIEWS:
The filmmaker has cleverly made a film that puts the magic of childhood in the foreground as a comment to the world around the two boys. It’s charming, it’s what we remember from our own childhood, it’s what a grandfather like me sees so often, it gives hope, doesn’t it? This film will travel the world. (Tue Steen Müller, filmkommentaren.dk)
Gods of Molenbeek is a wonderful portrayal of childhood friendship, inquiry and the creation of meaning in a chaotic time. (Göteborg International Film Festival)
