March 7, 2026
14:00 hrs
Filmhuis Den Haag
This film programme brings together five short films by Syrian filmmakers living and working in the Netherlands and Belgium. In 84 minutes, a rich and personal mosaic of stories unfolds about exile, memory, justice, identity and resistance.
The films move between fiction and documentary and show how young Syrian filmmakers translate their experiences, questions and doubts into visual language. Sometimes modest and personal, sometimes confrontational and experimental. Together, these works form a contemporary cinematic archive of a generation in diaspora – filmmakers who not only look back on Syria, but also reflect on their new lives in Europe.
After the screening, we welcome Rosh Abdelfatah, director of the Rotterdam Arab Film Festival, and filmmaker Nour Alkheder, Alhasan Yousef and Razan Hassan for a post-screening discussion.
During this programme, Filmhuis Den Haag screens the following films:
Mona (11 min) – Abdulrahman Alshowaiki
A Syrian mother tries to protect her two daughters from traditional social norms in her new life in Belgium. In a subtle and sensitive portrait, the film shows how care, love and upbringing come under pressure when cultures, expectations and generations clash.
Abdulrahman Alshowaiki came to Belgium in 2015 and obtained his master’s degree in directing at LUCA School.
Beyond the Sun (15 min) – Yazan Rabee
Nader begins his compulsory military service as a guard in a Syrian prison. When he witnesses torture and refuses to participate, he finds himself in danger. The film depicts an oppressive moral struggle: how do you survive within a system of violence without becoming a perpetrator yourself? A sober and powerful film about dehumanisation, guilt and silence.
Yazan Rabee was born in Aleppo (1995) and studied at St. Joost School of Art & Design in Breda.
I Love You More (17 min) – Nour Alkheder
In this personal film, Nour searches for the absent figure of her father and her enduring longing for Syria. Loss and love, grief and memory intertwine in an intimate narrative about what it means to live with absence.
Nour Alkheder studied at the Netherlands Film Academy and combines documentary and fiction in her work.
Locus Cordis (19 min) – Alhasan Yousef
From his European exile, the filmmaker explores the power of sound and memory. Inspired by the Syrian Golan Heights, where families sing to each other across a military border, he attempts to reconnect with his lost homeland through sound. A poetic and sensory film about distance, longing and inner isolation.
Alhasan Yousef lives in Brussels and studied at the DocNomads master’s programme in Portugal.
On the Edge of Life, I Saw a Film (22 min) – Razan Hassan
What if death is not the end, but a beginning? A young war survivor stands on the edge of a building. What follows is not a fall, but a surreal journey through a city full of shadow and light. Along the way, she encounters figures who challenge her understanding of life, identity and transformation. A visually experimental film about survival and existential change.
Razan Hassan graduated from the Netherlands Film Academy and explores themes such as alienation and image formation in her work.
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