Dreams of the City

When his father dies, Dib (Bassel Abiad), his younger brother and their mother move away from their hometown to Damascus. The mother’s despotic father reluctantly takes them in and tries to force the mother to remarry. Overwhelmed by the magic of the city, Dib wants to discover everything and is full of dreams. His daily life is however shaped by insults and punishments. Dib grows up against a backdrop of the political upheavals of the 1950s and loses his childish illusions in the face of such violence and brutality. Mohammad Malas’ partly autobiographical debut film marked the transition to auteur cinema in Syria.