Dounia and the Princess of Aleppo

NB! Arabic speech at the screening at Deichman Bjørvika, and French speech at the screening at Vika kino. The is with English subtitles. Age limit: 6 years.

Dounia lives with her family in a war-torn Syria, and after her mother’s death she grows up with her father and grandparents. Even though the situation in the country is difficult, they have what they need to make by. This is until her father is imprisoned and their home is bombed. The little family and their neighbours have to flee the country.

They embark on a dangerous but exciting journey helped by the Princess of Aleppo and some magical seeds. The film is beautifully hand drawn, and deals with serious themes. It is easily accessible for children through the use of the supernatural and myths.

«The film’s gentle charm is in part to do with its pleasing, economically graphic animation style.» -Screen Daily.

Director

Marya Zarif is born and raised in Syria and has studied communication and playwriting at INSIS (Institut national de l’image et du son du Québec) in Canada. In 2013 she was the co-creator of The House of Syria, which is a tribute to Syrian Culture, and in 2015 she co-founded «I want to play», an organization working with Syrian refugee children. In 2020 she created the web series Dounia which later led to the feature film Dounia and the Princess of Aleppo (2022). André Kadi is a French comic book writer and musician living in Canada. He has directed MaXi (2017) and L’Agent Jean! (2018). Kadi has co-directed the series Dounia and his feature film debut Dounia and the Princess of Aleppo.

This film is part of