Of Fathers and Sons

Directed by: Talal Derki

2017 | Germany, USA | 99 minutes

After his Sundance award-winning documentary Return to Homs, Talal Derki returned to his homeland where he gained the trust of a radical Islamist family, sharing their daily life for over two years. His camera focuses primarily on the children, providing an extremely rare insight into what it means to grow up with a father whose only dream is to establish an Islamic caliphate. Osama (13) and his brother Ayman (12) both love and admire their father and obey his words, but while Osama seems content to follow the path of Jihad, Ayman wants to go back to school. 

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for World Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, Of Fathers and Sons is a work of unparalleled intimacy that captures the chilling moment when childhood dies and jihadism is born.

"An admirably audacious feat of documentarian access, Of Fathers and Sons is of obvious topical and anthropological interest as a glimpse into the gradual radicalization of young males and the deep community ties which underpin the process." - Neil Young, Hollywood Reporter

Academy Awards 2019, Nominee, Best Documentary Feature

No reservations are required. Seating is first come, first serve. 

This film is a part of Film for Thought, a series of screenings sponsored by the Advancing Intercultural Studies project and the UCR Center for Ideas and Society through a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.