Premiere IFFR 2019. A shifting relationship between a lapsed Muslim filmmaker and a charismatic young Belgian man, who has converted to Islam in the post-industrial city of Aalst. This Catholic city – where the industry is in rapid decline and where migration and Islam is a highly charged subject – is shown in muted, washy images. Scenes are subtle repetitions, as if director Omar A. Chowdhury wishes to stress that film is a construct, capturing different layers within a story. What is fact and what is fiction in this story?
In his films, Chowdhury goes in search of histories and contexts that he believes have been lost. In this search, he often uses narrative structures that blur the boundaries between fact and fiction. In this way, he reveals our unstable, uncertain relationship to the past – who we can trust and where art is supposed to stop.
won prizes
NL - Rotterdam International Film Festival IFFR selection
