Kurdish and Iranian filmmakers Edris Abdi et Warman Saeed receive a $5,000 grant for their project Childhood in the Mist

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Ayham, a 12-year-old Kurdish Yazidi boy, was taken by ISIS at age 3, along with his mother and brother. They were freed after three years, but Ayham’s mother, Wazira, remains missing. Ayham and his brother live with their uncle in a half-built house at a refugee camp. They must leave when it’s finished, but decorate it to make it feel like home. Ayham cares for puppies in another half-built house. His uncle, Tahsin, wants to apply for a humanitarian visa, but Ayham refuses to leave until he finds his mother. Despite searching, Ayham doesn’t get any leads and finds out his dogs are gone. Forced to leave their house again, they return to the half-built house where the poppies have been.