Paikar

• Date: 05 June, 08 June en 10 June
• Location: Filmhuis Den Haag

The Dutch-Afghan filmmaker Dawood reconnects with his authoritarian father—'Baba'—an imam with a violent past, to process their fraught history. To bridge the distance that has arisen between him and his father, Dawood embarks on a fragile journey from his home in Amsterdam, during which they explore Baba's past through Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq together. Places marked by faith and violence, exile and return. As they walk through the ruins of memory, the film reveals layers of intergenerational trauma, resilience, and unspoken love.

Paikar, awarded three prizes at IDFA, is a personal quest for liberation as well as a universal story about overcoming alienation. A film that shows how, even amidst adversity, space can emerge for freedom, creativity, and new connections.

'In the fascinatingly fragmented Paikar, fate catches up with the film-making son time and again' - de Volkskrant (★★★)

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