H O M E L A N D

A film by Sara Broos

HD/ 15´/2015/ Documentary/ Sweden

Written, directed & edited by Sara Broos

Starring Raghad Kanawati & Morten Harket

Music by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Morten Harket, Peter Kvint, Sirocco

Producer Sara Broos

Produced by Broos Film, Sweden

In co-production with Swedish Television/Emelie Persson

With support from The Swedish Film Institute/ Cecilia Lidin

Sales & Press:

Broos Film. Rådom 36, 68691 Sunne, Sweden

+46 706 80 77 67

Schlesische Str 25

D 10997 Berlin, Germany

+49 152 175 935 17

broosfilm@gmail.com

www.broosfilm.com

Short synopsis

A young woman escapes the war in Syria and ends up in the forest in Sweden.

Music is a way for her to survive and brings her back in dreams and memories to her

homeland. Specially one song has followed her all her life; a song by the Norwegian

popband A-ha. She listened to them during her childhood in Damaskus and now that

song becomes a link between the past and the present and holds a new meaning.

She has a dream to meet the singer Morten Harket, someone she has admired since she

was a child. A story about the power of music and the meaning of the word homeland.

Trailer

https://vimeo.com/125497438

Credits

Written, directed, edited & produced by Sara Broos

Camera: Sara Svärdsén, Sara Broos

Additional Camera: Kristoffer Andrén, Malek Blacktovich, Simon Olsson

Music: Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Morten Harket, Peter Kvint, Sirocco

Sound: Henrik Ohlin

Graphic Design: Greger Ulf Nilson

Grading: Nanna Dalunde

Still photography: Just Loomis

Research: Anton Klepke

Archive Film: Ghayath Almadoun, Marie Silkeberg

Online: Göran Messelt Andersson

Postproduction: Pixl Family

Raghad as a little girl.

Directors´notes

To me this film shows the importance of art, how art can save you, how a song can stay

with you for your whole life and how the meaning of a song changes depending on your

experiences. It is easy to create stereotypes about refugees, muslims, popstars or any

other ”group”. To forget about that behind the headlines and the masses there are

individuals. When you hear the word Syria the first association that comes to my mind

is war. But behind the destruction and suffering there is so much more, what Syria once

used to be, a homeland for so many people, beautiful memories, childhood, the daily life.

It was important for me to portray a woman who escaped the war and came to Sweden,

not mainly as a refugee. But as a woman, who is very much like me, despite our

differences and who also shares the same references. We both grew up listening to

A-ha with posters of Morten Harket on the wall.

She opened up a new world to me with Arabic music and with stories from her world,

from the time before the war, what Syria used to be. When she was a little girl she used

to pretend that she was acting in a music video of A-ha, together with her brothers.

The song she loved the most was Hunting High And Low and that song still means a lot

to her and reminds her of her childhood in Damaskus, Syria.

Raghad Kanawati and Morten Harket. Photo: Sara Svärdsén

In the film Raghad talks about the importance of music as a source of hope and

inspiration, and when asked if there was one song that has meant the most to her,

she says “Hunting High and Low”.

“In one way or another it is for my family like a symbol for me,” says Raghad.

During the film, Morten visits Raghad in the countryside. Morten was surprised to hear

that A-ha’s music was popular in Syria during the 80s. “I had no idea there were people

there who were listening to what we were doing, and that it mattered to them.”

The director Sara Broos & Raghad Kanawati. Photo: Kristoffer Andrén

Background

I met Raghad at a refugee camp in the countryside in Sweden. I used to go there to give

Swedish lessons. I was struck by her strength and beauty. How she fought to keep her

dignity and her struggle to start a new life in a new place that she didn´t have any

relation to. ”Music saves me”, she told me. She listens to all kinds of music, creates

different playlists every day. Music and God is the link, the home, the place where she

can always go to find comfort or hope again, even in the darkest times.

We became close friends, we could laugh together, cry together. And music was in the

beginning our way to communicate, a reference where no words were needed.

The director Sara Broos & Raghad Kanawati. Photo: Harald Raajmakers

Raghad Kanawati, Sara Broos & Morten Harket at the premiere in Stockholm. Photo: Adam Ostwani

Some facts:

The film was during two weeks the most popular and most watched film

on Swedish Television.

Morten Harket and Peter Kvint recorded a special acoustic version of

Hunting High and Low specially for the film and for Raghad.

About the meaning behind Brother, the song played to the end credits Morten says:

“It has been written about brothers in general. It can be a Muslim brother or my own

brother. It is about human relationships. It’s about humanity.”

Sara Broos. Photo: Joakim Roos

About the director

Sara Broos, lives and works in Sunne, Sweden and Berlin.

She has directed award winning documentaries, short films and experimental films.

Her style is personal and sometimes experimental. She runs the independent

production company Broos Film.

She has received several awards as a filmmaker. Her debut feature length documentary

“For You Naked” received a Dragon Award for Best Documentary at Gothenburg Int Film

Festival 2012, Best Nordic Documentary at Nordic Docs 2013. 2014 she was rewarded the

prestigeous Bo Widerberg Prize.

She is head of an advanced level screen writing program with base in Sweden,

Copenhagen, Berlin, Gothenburg and Stockholm.

Filmography

2003 Time To Be (short fiction) Best shortfilm Cosmic Zoom, Copenhagen.

2004 One More (short fiction)

2007 Roadside (short fiction)

2008 Scenes From The Countryside (feature length doc)

2012 For You Naked (feature length doc)

2015 Homeland (short doc)

2016 Reflections (feature length doc)

2017 Notes On A Journey (feature length doc. In production)

Official poster

A film by Sara Broos

Written, directed & edited by Sara Broos / With Raghad Kanawati & Morten Harket / Music by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Morten Harket, Peter Kvint, Sirocco / Camera: Sara Svärdsén, Sara Broos / Additional Camera: Kristoffer Andrén, Malek Blacktovich, Simon Olsson / Graphic Design: Greger Ulf Nilson / Sound: Henrik Ohlin / Still Photography: Just Loomis / Archive Film: Ghayath Almadoun, Marie Silkeberg / Research: Anton Klepke / Grading: Nanna Dalunde / Online: Göran Messelt Andersson / Postproduction: Pixl Family / Producer: Sara Broos / Produced by Broos Film, Sweden / In Co-production with Swedish Television, Emelie Persson / With support from The Swedish Film Institute, Cecilia Lidin