Of Fathers and Sons

Talal Derki is a Syrian director. He returned to his country presenting himself as a war photographer and won the trust of a radical Islamist family. He lived with them for more than two years and turned his camera on the father's sons: Osama and his younger brother Ayman. The father, Abu Osama, is a member of the Nusra Front and is raising his sons as his own continuation. Osama is sent to a weapons training camp; Ayman wants to go to school. The documentary's strength is that it shows the children's daily life: they play football, catch birds, fight, and on the same day learn to defuse mines and make bombs. The narrative offers no comment; the camera only watches two boys leave the same house and go to different places. Derki's method carries a serious ethical question: he pretended sympathy for years and the family did not know what was being made. The film won the grand jury prize at Sundance and was nominated for the best documentary Oscar in 2019. Who it's for: Viewers of war documentary, narratives about Syria, and direct observational cinema. Who it's not for: What the children are exposed to is very hard to watch. The film's method is also contested.