The Tower

Animation, director: Mats Grorud, France/Norway/Sweden, 2018, 80 min., Arab. with En. ST

> Saturday, 27.04.2024 | 17:00 | Sinema Transtopia |

Followed by a Film Talk with Mats Grorud and Abu Hassan.

Wardi is an 11-year-old girl who lives with her family in a refugee camp near Beirut. Her beloved grandfather Sidi was one of the first people to settle in the camp after being chased from his home back in 1948. He often tells stories about their home country, Palestine, and about the house with the beautiful garden, in which he grew up and whose keys he still carries with him until today. Wardi dreams of returning there one day with her grandfather. But when he gives her the keys, she fears he lost all hope to return. Looking around the camp for stories that will ignite Sidi’s lost hope, she ends up collecting her family’s testimonies, from one generation to the next. Based on conversations with inhabitants of Burj el-Barajneh refugee camp, Grorud’s lovingly animated debut won numerous awards in prestigious international film festivals, among them the Best Animated Feature Award in the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival and the Jury Special Award in the MONSTRA Lisbon Animated Film Festival.

The film is recommended for a young audience from age 14 on.