Amira's Children

synopsis

“All we knew about this country was that it was in the middle of Europe, and that it didn’t like Muslims,” Amira recalls of her first contact with the Czech Republic. In 2015, after fleeing war-torn Syria, this country became a new home for her and her six children. This 10- year documentary follows the Alhariri family, as they integrate into Czech society, despite their different faith, culture, and traditions. While Amira becomes the cultural anchor of the family, her husband, Abdul, works hard in a small kebab shop. Their eldest son, Kenan, is scarred by his experiences of war, and struggles to find new values. His younger brother, Montaser, on the other hand, is clear about his inherited values. Son Adnan and daughter Zaina fit in perfectly with their Czech classmates from the first grade, while the youngest children, Hamud and Kamar, still have time to find their way. Amira knows what life in Europe has to offer, but she never stops believing in a return to her homeland.

“What Mecca means to Mohammed, this mountain Říp means to Czechs.” — quote from the film

biography

Markéta Ekrt Válková (born 1973) studied at the Film School in Zlín and the Department of Documentary Film at FAMU. In addition to a number of documentaries and series for Czech Television, she also made the feature-length documentary Mára Goes to Heaven (2022) about mountaineer Marek Holeček.

film details

director:	Markéta Ekrt Válková
producer:	Kateřina Černá
script:	Markéta Ekrt Válková
photography:	Matěj Piňos, David Cysař, Vojtěch Lukeš, Jan Šimánek
editing:	Josef Krajbich
music:	Clarinet Factory
sound:	Viktor Ekrt, Miroslav Chaloupka
sound design:	Viktor Ekrt, Miroslav Chaloupka
co-producer:	Kateřina Ondřejková Česká televize
executive producer:	Eva Balousová

contact

Žofie Strachotová / Negativ s.r.o.
zofie@negativ.cz