Gods of Molenbeek

The documentary was filmed in the Molenbeek-Saint-Jean district of Brussels. From outside, the district is spoken of in terms of jihadism. For six year old Aatos it is simply home. He is growing up alongside his friend Amine. The two of them listen to spiders. They talk about black holes. They argue over who would steer a flying carpet. They go after the big questions together. Then a bomb goes off in the neighbourhood. That is how the hardness of the adult world gets in. Aatos envies Amine his faith and starts looking for a god of his own. Their classmate Flo objects, since she thinks believing in a god makes no sense. The seventy three minute documentary is a Belgian, German and Finnish coproduction Reetta Huhtanen finished in 2019.