MORGENKREIS
Germany, Canada, United Arab Emirates
2025 | 21 min. | Short Experimental

A short, visceral narrative film unfolding in three parts to explore the experience of loss. From our earliest experience of separation to the imperceptible violence associated with integrating into a new country when your homeland is no longer livable, MORNING CIRCLE follows a father and son in their shared rituals as they prepare to start the day and head to kindergarten.

Directed by: Basma al-Sharif
Written by: Basma al-Sharif
Produced by: Julia Paoli, Hoor Al Qasimi
Cinematography: Simon Veroneg
Editing: Basma al-Sharif, Juna Suleiman
Production Design: Eyal Vexler
Costume Design: Tony Eckardt
Sound: Federico Chiari, Maurice Louca
Cast: Panos Aprahamian (Mister Abrahamyan (the father)), Mohammad Ali (Adnan (the son)), Philip Widmann (kindergarten teacher), Fadi AbdelShafi (kindergarten teacher), Jasmina Metwaly (kindergarten teacher)

Statement of the director:
MORNING CIRCLE is a film that depicts the invisible violence of upheaval, displacement, and integration. It looks at the root of dehumanisation that has allowed for the kind of live-streamed violence that characterises contemporary society. Drawing a parallel between early childhood separation anxiety and the anxiety felt by migrants who no longer have a home to return to, the film draws from integration policy research and John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory to poetically portray the ways in which the State casually encroaches on the private and fragile lives of migrants, often in ways that are both naïve and menacing. I made this film to honour the resilience of my people overcoming impossible obstacles in order to survive, and for the diaspora who fight their own battles on hostile land.

Production:
The Vega Foundation
https://www.thevegafoundation.com/

Press/social media agency:
Imane Farès Galerie
https://imanefares.com/