Omar Shargawi

Western Arabs

2019 Denmark
78min • Danish, English, Arabic. English subtitles
K16
Theme: Rage
13.11.2019 | Time 17.00 | Venue: Tapio 4 | BUY TICKET

A brutal story depicting a struggle between two cultures.

Omar Shargawin’s Western Arabs is an extremely personal portrayal of the challenges Omar and his family faced as Arabs living in Copenhagen in the 1960s and 70s. The film follows a twelve year period, in which it shows Omar’s difficult relationship with his father and his growing identity.

Omar is half Palestinian and half Danish and faces racism and prejudice in his free time and also in school. Omar represents two different cultures and in so doing struggles to find himself and his own identity. How much do I owe to a culture I have never even seen before? What is my place in this society? Omar does not want to end up like his father, a man who has been unable to adjust to a new culture and as a result transfers the trauma this has caused to his children.

This touching and relevant film is extremely important today. Shargawi encapsulates the rage and confusion that immigrants and refugees go through in search of their identity in a new environment and culture.

Trailer