Jowan Safadi, an Israeli Palestinian living in Haifa, is a well-known musician in the Middle East and a true free spirit. With his band Fish Samak, he delivers songs that contain political and socially critical as well as emotional and philosophical contexts. Jowan is not afraid to express his thoughts freely, even when addressing taboo topics. His lyrics—profound and provocative—have provoked controversial reactions in many ways: on the one hand, he was charged with “incitement to terrorism” by the Israeli police; on the other hand, his last tour through Jordan ended in prison and accusations of incitement.
Recently, however, his 15-year-old son Don moved in with him. Now Jowan faces a whole new challenge: on the one hand, he must continue to fight for his ideals and his music, but at the same time he must also take on paternal responsibilities and provide his son with a suitable environment.
AT, 2017, 95 MIN
Credits
Director Fernando Romero-Forsthuber
Editor Wolfgang Auer
Cinematography Jakob Fuhr, Martin Putz, Falko Lachmund, Rabia Salfiti
Sound Feras Shehadeh
Concept Ari Y. Richter, Jürgen Karasek
Producers Jürgen Karasek, Filip Antoni Malinowski
Awards / Festivals / PITCHES
Best Documentary Frontdoc FF 2018, IT
DOK Leipzig 2017, DE | Haifa Independent FF 2018, IL | Crossing Europe FF 2018, AT | Ethnocineca FF 2018, AT | CinéDOC-Tbilisi FF 2018, GE | DocsBarcelona FF 2018, ES | DOK.fest München 2018, DE | Festival Internacional de Cine Político 2018, AR | Festival Internacional de Cine por los Derechos Humanos 2018, CO | Fünf Seen Filmfestival 2018, DE | NAFA Int. Ethnographic Film Festival 2018, RO | WOMEX 2018, ES | International Festival of Mediterranean Documentary and Reportage 2018, FR | Festival DocsBarcelona Valparaíso 2018, CL | DokuBaku Int. Documentary FF 2018, AZ | Arab Film Festival 2018, DE | Cinemed Festival 2018, FR | DUHOK Int. FF 2018, IQ | Frontdoc FF 2018, IT | Marda Loop Justice FF 2019, CA
Developed at: CoPro TelAviv, dokfest Munich Marketplace, East European Forum Prague, Medimed Sitges
Funding
Austrian Ministry of Culture and Arts, City of Vienna Culture