Silent Trees | AKFF

Amsterdam Koerdisch Film Festival

After her mother’s tragic death on the Polish-Belarusian border, a 16-year-old Kurdish girl, Runa, has to become a mother to her four younger brothers. A partially animated coming-of-age story set during a global refugee crisis.

When her mother dies in the forest on the Polish-Belarusian border, a 16-year-old Kurdish girl, Runa, has to quickly grow up to take care of her four younger brothers and her helpless, depressed father. The family deals with their trauma in a refugee camp and tries to establish a new life in Poland.
Runa’s greatest fear is being forced to return to Iraq, where Kurds face the threat of ISIS. She wants to live like her newfound European friends and become a lawyer. But just as her dream of going back to school comes true, another threat appears — the threat of deportation.
Runa’s escape from everyday problems is a sketchbook filled with drawings that express what she feels. Gradually, her drawings come to life. The film is a partially animated coming-of-age story set during the global refugee crisis.