11/18
Brussels teacher Amal encourages her students’ passion for reading and freedom of expression, despite the risks. Her bold approach leaves a mark on students and families. I saw it at the 2023 film festival in Ghant (Belgium). To begin with, I have to admit that I started off on the wrong foot, at least in the first half of the running time. I felt a bit disconnected from the story: is there something they want to tell us? It is really quite unfortunate that religious fanaticism and fundamentalism have such an overwhelming influence on many people, so much so that they do everything they can to threaten or even eliminate those who do not believe. My initial problem with the story in question was that I wrongly assumed that the filmmakers were trying to inform us that there are people who put the Quran and Sharia above national laws and therefore ignore what we consider normal (we call “civilized”) in order to be tolerant of other beliefs. I stand corrected now, knowing that they were not preaching. Also, now on a positive note. What firstly grabbed me was the believable cast and the still believable circumstances within the school, where a considerable part of the story takes place. The same goes for the parents and the neighbourhood, which could be set in any big city in any country. For me, the developments gained real momentum due to some unexpected twists and turns that kept the story afloat and me interested in the proceedings. Secondly, what also grabbed me were the growing dilemmas for the teachers and the school principal, becoming more complicated with each subsequent meeting. Fundamental issues are manifesting themselves and moving the story forward, unfortunately with no obvious way out. These meetings immersed me deeply in what happened, also showing us how difficult it is to decide on a balanced approach to the issues on the agenda. Thirdly, we also witnessed the strong influence of social media. It is not only direct threats that matter here. Also that everyone is talking about you, without knowing the real facts, but still forming opinions that spread like wildfire. It is easy to like a post, even when you do not fully agree with it, it can be done quickly without a second thought. Furthermore, writing a negative story is also very easy, amplified by the anonymity that accompanies unverified reports. All of this adds up to an unmitigated media storm. Before the Internet, we had the churchyard, the butcher shop, and the bar to exchange gossip; now we have a much faster medium with greater coverage and velocity. There is no happy ending, however, presumably a Mission Impossible one given the circumstances. This leaves us with no resolution, but is there one? Overall, this is not a documentary to demonstrate that fundamentalists are becoming more and more of a problem, as I am sure the filmmakers now know we already knew. It is a real-world story in and around a real-world school, genuine teachers, and genuine students with families back home who are also involved. We see believable characters in their respective roles, even the unsympathetic ones.