Archive of films Go With Peace Jamil / Ma salama Jamil

Denmark
2008, 87 min

Section: Another View
Year: 2008

An action drama awarded with a Rotterdam Tiger, about the age-old fratricidal enmity between Sunnis and Shiites, which takes place in a reclusive Muslim community in Copenhagen. Jamil, an immigrant, avenges the murder of his mother and thus instigates an endless spiral of senseless vendettas from which he desperately tries to save his little boy.

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.

Contacts

Danish Film Institute
Gothersgade 55, 1123, Copenhagen
Denmark
Tel: +45 337 434 00
Fax: +45 337 434 01
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.dfi.dk

TrustNordisk
Filmbyen 22, 2650, Hvidovre
Denmark
Tel: +45 368 687 88
Fax: +45 367 744 48
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.trustnordisk.com

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About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Another View

Director:	Omar Shargawi
Screenplay:	Omar Shargawi, Mogens Rukov
Dir. of Photography:	Aske Alexander Foss
Music:	Anders Christensen, Lasse Mosegaard Jensen
Editor:	Per Sandholt, Anders Refn, Henrik Thiesen
Producer:	Meta Foldager
Production:	Zentropa Entertainments ApS
Cast:	Dar Salim, Khalid Al-Subeihi, Munir Shargawi, Omar Shargawi, Elias al-Subehi
Contact:	Danish Film Institute, TrustNordisk

Guests

Christian Juhl Lemche

Film Institution Rep.

Meta Louise Foldager Sørensen

Producer

Susan Wendt

Sales Agent

Molly Malene Stensgaard

Film Institution Rep.

Dar Salim

Actor

Marie-Louise Rasmussen

Sales Agent