Hot Docs 2008

This keenly observant and beautifully shot film enjoyed critical and audience acclaim at the recent Dubai and Sundance film festivals. It tells the story of Abu Amar, an ex-Mujahideen soldier, trying to build a peaceful life after years of fighting in the Soviet-Afghan war. His personal struggle between faith and the difficult political and social realities of life in the Middle East finds Amar, father of eight, forced to collect and recycle cardboard in the streets of Zarqa, Jordan. Zarqa, a hotbed for political Islamists, is also the childhood home of the film’s director and the birthplace of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the late and infamous al-Qaeda leader in Iraq. The director rides shotgun with Amar and his young son as they drive the streets of Zarqa, the same streets and extreme living conditions which led many other young men to choose the violent life of political extremism.
-Chris McDonald