Homemade Stories

When the revolution in Syria turned into war, Nidal Al Dibs and his family fled to Cairo. There, he started filming his Egyptian friends as they attempt to reopen a long-closed cinema in their impoverished neighborhood. As this endeavor proves to be more and more difficult, Nidal turns to managing renovations of his house back in his troubled homeland. All he’s got is a camera and a few home movies, but Al Dibs uses them to point out major issues in the Arab world. For him, film represents hopes and dreams—and that’s a vision borne out by local people in Cairo sharing their cinematic memories. But making a dream come true is another matter entirely. Al Dibs uses scenes from everyday life to tell a powerful story. But this film is also about the images he will never get back: footage of his old film club and photos of friends who have disappeared paint a picture of a country that no longer exists, except in the memories of its people. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)