Go With Peace Jamil

Colour, 35 mm
Denmark, 2008, 87 min
Section: Another View

Synopsis

How does one live in peace with one’s enemies? That is the agonizing question consuming the character in the title role of this Danish film, which reflects on the current state of the ancient religious hatred that divides Muslims into the two basic branches of Islam. Jamil, a Sunni Muslim living in Copenhagen, has just avenged his mother who was murdered several years before by the brother of a local Shiite leader. By doing so, however, he has started a spiralling and brutal blood feud, of which Jamil’s best friend becomes a victim. In the attempt to save his small son from the implications of his sins, Jamil decides to extricate himself from the vicious cycle of senseless violence which only produces more violence... The action drama with its disquieting, volatile cinematography is set against the backdrop of the Danish metropolis, though it could just as well play out in any other Arab community. Director Omar Shargawi, himself of Muslim faith, contemplates the fratricidal bloodshed among deeply religious factions and loving people devoted to their families who are unable to defy the dark shadows of the past.

About the director

Omar Shargawi (b. 1974, Copenhagen) was born to a Danish mother and Palestinian father. Before turning to film direction, he worked as a self-trained photographer and later as an actor. He had a small role in the Danish drama Scratch (Bagland, 2003) and also appeared in a number of television series: the family Bible series Jesus & Josefine (Jesus og Josefine, 2003) and the crime show The Eagle (Ørnen: En krimi-odyssé, 2005). Originally intended as a short film, Shargawi’s feature film debut Go With Peace Jamil (2008), the theme of which is the age-old enmity between Sunnis and Shiites, has been in the works since 2003. The drama, in which the director appears as well, received a Tiger Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and the FIPRESCI Prize at the Gothenburg Film Festival.