The new feature film Broeders by Hanro Smitsman, starring Achmed Akkabi (Rabat), Walid Benmbarek (Infiltrant), and Bilal Wahib (Layla M), premieres on Saturday, September 23 at the Stadsschouwburg Utrecht during the 37th edition of the Netherlands Film Festival (NFF). Broeders tells the story of two brothers who travel together to war-torn Syria in search of their youngest brother, an alleged Syria traveler.

Current Topic
The film is directed by the highly acclaimed director Hanro Smitsman, known for films such as Schemer, Eileen, and Skin.
“Broeders addresses a very topical theme. I want to show that not all choices people make are by definition ideologically motivated. The film makes you aware of the personal backgrounds of behavior, makes choices understandable, and thereby offers a counterweight to overly simplistic judgments. Depending on the circumstances, victims can become perpetrators and vice versa,” says Smitsman.

Story in short
In Broeders, Hassan (Achmed Akkabi) and Mourad (Walid Benmbarek) travel to Syria to search for their youngest brother Yasin (Bilal Wahib). As they attempt to follow Yasin's trail through Jordan and Syria, Hassan and Mourad become unwillingly involved in the Syrian conflict. Will this bring the brothers closer together, despite confronting the horrors of war, or has the war inflicted irreparable wounds?

Princess Rym Ali of Jordan on set visit
Broeders was largely filmed in Jordan. Filming took place at many different locations, including the refugee camp in Azraq. The filmmakers received special permission from the United Nations for this. Additionally, the cast and crew received a visit on set from HRH Princess Rym Ali, a member of the Royal Film Commission of Jordan.

Special public premiere
On September 23, just before the official premiere, there will be a special public premiere of Broeders at Pathé Rembrandt cinema. Additionally, the film will be shown in the regular NFF program on Sunday, September 24 and Wednesday, September 27.
Tickets for this are now available via www.filmfestival.nl.

In cinemas from October
Broeders is directed by Hanro Smitsman. The screenplay was written by Marc Linssen, Roeland Linssen, Alma Popeyus, and Hein Schütz. The film was produced by Corrino Drama, in co-production with BNNVARA and with support from CoBO. Broeders will be showing in Dutch cinemas starting in October and will be broadcast by BNNVARA on NPO2 in the spring.



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