We Are From There
This film is available on our digital platform.
The Syrian brothers Jamil and Milad have very different personalities. As the war in Syria continues, they both decide to try their luck in a different country. Jamil, a carpenter by profession, first moves to Beirut before embarking on an illegal journey to Sweden to settle there. Milad, who is a trumpeter, and the dreamier of the two, decides to move straight from Damascus to Berlin. We Are From There is directed by their cousin Wissam Tanios, who followed the brothers over a period of five years.
Throughout the film, Jamil and Milad reflect on their childhood in Syria, how having to leave their homeland affects them each in their own way and their encounters with new places to call home. This is not a documentary about the war in Syria, but like other filmmakers before him, Tanios uses the war as a starting point to tell a poignant story about the true meaning of home and the human ability to deal with radical change.
Mads Wølner Voss
Director
Wissam Tanios studied cinema at St Joseph University in Beirut. We Are From There is Tanios' first feature-length documentary and premiered at International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2020. He has previously directed the short documentaries Aftermath (2012) and Departures (2015).
This film is part of
Country Lebanon, France
Year 2020
Director Wissam Tanios
Cinematography Fadi El Samra, Wissam Tanios
Producer Christian Eid, Gabrielle Dumon
Cast Milad Khawam, Jamil Khawam
Production Company Abbout Productions, Le Bureau
Runtime 1h 22m
Language Arabic
Subtitles English
Genre Documentary
Age limit 9
Links IMDb