WHAT HAPPENED TO MY OLIVE TREE?

WHAT HAPPENED TO MY OLIVE TREE?

WHAT HAPPENED TO MY OLIVE TREE?

Director: Sama Zuhair
Short documentary | Germany | 2024
22 min | Dolby 5.1

58th Hof International Film Festival
2024

A 7-year-old girl climbs the olive tree in her garden in Baghdad, watching the street from one of its branches. For hours, she observes her neighbors returning home from work, some street vendors, and soldiers laden with weapons marching with a massive tank that can barely navigate the narrow residential street.

For three years, she climbs the tree every day to witness the unfolding events of the war, until her family decides to flee to Egypt in search of safety. The girl suffers from PTSD and has lost the memories of her childhood. None the less, she remains curious about what she actually saw from the tree and what happened to her during the war. With the help of her family, she embarks on a journey to uncover her buried memories, all while grappling with the most important question, “What happened to my olive tree?”

With Inttissar Hussien, Sama Zuhair, Sarah Zuhair, Zuhair Salih

Cinematography Fizzy (Phillipp) Rode, Editing Jonathan Scheid, Sound design Muhammet Can, Music Demian Martin, Production Marc Colditz