Origin: Palestine | Jordan | Greece | United Arab Emirates | Fiction | Director: Annemarie Jacir | 93 minutes

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When I saw you

Annemarie Jacir Fiction 2012

Tarek, 11 (Mahmoud Asfa), and his mother Ghaydaa (Ruba Blal) are in a refugee camp, separated from Tarek's father and hoping against hope that he will one day turn up. They are living in a kind of eternally deferred state in this grim camp: their lives are on hold in emotional exile and it is miserable. Despite, or because of, being smart, Tarek doesn't do well in the makeshift schoolroom – and runs away, finding himself in a guerrilla training camp, where he is taken up as a mascot, and sees a future for himself as a fighter.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCHijjRwChs

Director's interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osLg7tWgx_w

Review: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jun/05/when-i-saw-you-review

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View trailer