Films by Karim Sebastian Elias

Germany, Qatar, Libanon, Syria 2017, 98 min
by Talal Derki

Talal Derki’s new documentary tells the story the young generation in Syria and asks about the future of children, who grew up in the war.If you want to tame your nightmares, you need to capture them first. That’s what Syrian documentary filmmaker Talal Derki learned from his father. As in his previous film RETURN TO HOMS, he returns to his homeland and becomes part of life in a war zone. For more than two years he lives with the family of Abu Osama, an Al-Nusra fighter in a small village in northern Syria, focusing his camera mainly on the children. From a young age, the boys are trained to follow in their father’s footsteps and become soldiers of God. The horrors of war and the intimacy of family life are never far from one another. At the nearby battlefront Abu Osama fights against the enemy, while at home he cuddles with the boys and dreams of the caliphate. Talal Derki sets out to capture the moment when the children have to let go of their youth and are finally turned into Jihadi fighters. No matter how close the war comes, there's one thing they've already learned: they must never cry.

Germany 2016, 90 min
by Britta Wauer, Kaspar Köpke

William Wolff was born in Berlin, carries a British passport and lives in a bungalow near London. Now nearly 90, he still works as State Rabbi in north-eastern Germany. His regular midweek commute takes him from Heathrow to Hamburg, and on to his Jewish communities in Schwerin and Rostock. After Saturday services, it's back home, unless he's visiting relatives in Jerusalem, going on a fasting retreat or placing a bet at Royal Ascot. Willy Wolff says, "life has to be fun". RABBI WOLFF is not only entertaining, but also eye-opening and inspiring. With humour and charm, it gives an honest, intimate insight into the world of Judaism.52mins or 90min original German/English/Russian/Hebrew/Dutch version with English subtitles available