Buurman Abdi / Neighbour Abdi

2022 – Neighbour Abdi (Original title: Buurman Abdi) | short documentary

How can you understand a violent past? Somali-born Abdi is furniture designer and support worker. He reenacts his life, marked by war and criminality, with the help of his neighbour and filmmaker Douwe. By means of playful reconstructions in a special effects studio, Abdi and Douwe embark on a candid and investigative journey through a painful history, focusing on the creative process throughout.

“Playing with the borders of geography, reality and human relationships, the film offers us a new and hopeful image of acceptance and mutual understanding.”
Statement by the Locarno International Film Festival Pardi di domani Jury. Neighbour Abdi won the Pardino d’argento SRG SSR award for the International Competition and was also awarded Locarno’s Short Film candidacy for the European Film Awards.

World premiere at Locarno Film Festival 2022
Running time: 29 min

Producer: Valk Productions
Sales and festival distribution: Square Eyes, contact: wouter@squareeyesfilm.com

This film was realised as part of the Teledoc Campus programme, a collaboration of CoBO, NPO, The Netherlands Film Fund and the NPO Fund.