Syrian filmmaker Talal Derki returns to his homeland posing as a pro-jihadist photojournalist making a documentary on the rise of the caliphate. In a remote village, he meets radical Islamist leader and loving father Abu Osama, and the group of young boys—his son included—who idolize him.
A standout film at the 2019 Berlinale, Talal Derki’s Oscar®-nominated documentary stuns with its fearless examination of extremism. With unprecedented access to Syrian youths militarized by terrorist training, this unnerving family portrait lays bare the loss of childhood innocence in times of war.