Original subtitles

On each branch, on each pebble, on each stone,

I inscribed the world's sweetest news, I scribbled on the sun's notebook...

I adore you.

If only you had read the news!

You're making fun of me? You are laughing!

Of course not, silly!

I love your poems!

Akh, you are so pretty.

Do you know what Leyla's Mad Lover used to say?

No, but tickle our ears with your words.

Bright as a happy morning,

she is the moon that appears between the dark wings of the night.

The moon is full, brace yourself, it's about to start!

What is about to start?

Nour, eshou had!?

Don't be afraid.

Upon August's full moon,

the pistachio's shell opens itself to the world.

That means it's ripe, ready to be picked.

You see, ever since I was a child, I've come here to watch over the orchard.

Aleppo's first pistachio, for my princess of Aleppo.

DOUNIA AND THE PRINCESS OF ALEPPO

Nine months later, it was spring in Aleppo.

You see, Aleppo is very, very old, and filled with secrets.

And great hiding places for the birds.

Spring is the season for rose jam.

I know it sounds strange, making jam out of roses,

but in Aleppo, we love to eat.

Some people say that if stones rained from the sky,

the women of Aleppo would make jam out of them.

They're magicians.

I was born that morning.

While my mommy was giving birth to me,

Téta Mouné, who is her mommy and has big blue eyes,

was holding her hand.

The souk was waking up, the shop owners were opening their stalls,

and craftsmen were starting their day.

When I was born, I let out such a loud, powerful cry

that I made the bells of the cathedral ring

and I made the great mosque's muezzin sing.

A turtledove came to my baba to tell him I was born.

My baba is Nour; his name means "the light."

He reads all the time and knows so many things.

- When Nour speaks... - Hi!

...the light shines in our spirit,

like my grandfather says, Jeddo Darwich.

Jeddo Darwich! Mabrouk!

- Mabrouk! - That's it? Yallah!

Abdou, please keep the shop for me.

Drink it, my sweet,

I put some barake seed in it.

My baba, my mommy, my Jeddo and my Téta all fell in love with me.

My mommy's name is Leyla. That means "the night."

Her face was as sweet as the moon and she had the voice of a princess.

You see, her mouth is like a pistachio, so tiny.

And she has my hair.

I already love her like the whole world!

So we will call her Dounia!

Like the world!

Dounia...

Swing and play, play and swing over the roofs of the kings

Over land and over sea, take me Dounia, take me see

Little birdy in the tree, are you free?

Little angel on the branch, where's your home?

Swing and play, play and swing over the roofs of the kings

We will turn the eggplant gold for our delightful jam

I loved playing with my mommy so much.

But one day, she got really sick.

And then she went to live with the king of the clouds.

I can't remember all that;

I was too little when it happened.

Swing and play, play and swing

Over the roofs of the kings

Over land and over sea, to all four corners please take me...

Dounia!

Get up, ya Doudé!

Dounia!

Dounia!

Ya Doudé!

Mamounieh?

Téta Mouné! Are you making mamounieh?

Sa7 al'nome, eye of your Téta!

Well yes, today is a very special day, ya Dounia!

Come, I will show you how to make mamounieh.

First, we bring four cups of water to a boil.

What comes next, ya Téta?

We pour two large cups of sugar into the water.

No more, or it will be too sweet.

And a cup of fine semolina that I browned in butter.

And there it is, the mamounieh!

Mamounieh, mamounieh,

it's a delight, it's so light!

Mamounieh, mamounieh,

It's my secret, I won't tell.

Mix the semolina, with some sweet water,

Now that you know how, let's make it together!

Mamounieh, mamounieh

Don't sweeten it too much, it's buttered well!

Sprinkle some cinnamon, sprinkle some pistachio

A delightful feast for you, my Mouné!

Sprinkle some cinnamon, sprinkle some pistachio

A delightful feast for you, my Mouné!

Mamounieh, mamounieh,

Of all my secrets, this is your favourite

Mamounieh, mamounieh

It's my secret, I won't tell

Happy Birthday, Doudé!

Happy birthday, Dounia...

Happy birthday, Dounia!

Happy birthday, happy birthday...

Dounia is a year older!

Oh! Abouss roho!

Allah! He sings just as well as Sabri Mdalla'l!

Yes, well, maybe,

but I don't like to see birds locked up in cages.

A bird needs to fly, to live in the sky!

As a matter of fact, nobody should be put in a cage.

Do you know how many prisoners of conscience there are in this country?!

Nour, don't you start with your political speeches.

These walls have ears.

You want to get us all in trouble?

And what will you call your canary, my sweet?

I will call him Habibi!

Habibi!

Habibi, the canary!

It rimes!

Excellent idea, Dounia!

So they played every day together on the bridge?

And after that, what happened then, Baba?

Then, during a moonless night,

war was declared between the two peoples.

The bridge between the two shores was condemned.

Just like that, they weren't allowed to play together anymore.

They had become enemies.

So before they went their separate ways,

they moulded a small two-headed statue.

They made huge eyes for it so it could see the past,

the present and the future,

and one body so it would be connected forever.

They walked all the way to the top of the hill

to offer their statue to the Gods.

This is where men, women,

older folks and children would drop their secret wishes.

And the war set in.

And one day, the war ended,

and the bridge between the two shores was rebuilt.

So, Ay, who now had circles all around his eyes,

reunited with Choum, whose back was bent and worn by the years.

They picked up where they left off with their fishing in the river

and lived till they got very old,

dying only a few days apart in their newfound country.

That's how their wish was granted to them

and that their friendship was preserved

despite the devastation of war and passing time.

And this ends my story!

Yallah Yallah.

It's time to go to sleep now.

Come on, hop into bed!

Who could come knocking so late?

- Nour The Pigeon-fancier? - It's me.

What do you want?

- You need to come with us! - But what do you want with him?

He has nothing to do with all this!

You back up, hajji!

Seize him!

Leave him alone!

No!

And since that day, I haven't seen my baba.

ONE YEAR LATER

Jeddo says they put him in a cage

because he was flying too high, like a bird.

School is coming upon the little one.

Habibi! Did you sleep well?

Birdseed for you, and some water!

No sugar.

Hey Georgette, like I once told you,

one dark moonless night, they came and took him.

Ouakh...

Eh wallah.

Since then, no news at all.

And this poor little one with no baba, no mommy.

Oh my dear!

Stay calm.

That's life! But you know what?

It is a blessing that you and Darwich are still here

and healthy enough to care for her.

Yallah, finish your coffee. I will read your cup!

What I see in this finjan

is strange and marvellous.

Ouakh ouakh ouakh.

Wait, let me see here,

Ah, a long road will open up for you...

a very difficult road... look.

But at the end of the earth.

What?

Open your mouth only on happiness!

At the end of the world...

I see a blue house in a country as white as peace, ya Mouné.

And my son-in-law, do you see when he'll be free?

No, ya Mouné,

but he is alive, that is clear in your coffee!

Mrs. Dabbouss!

Please read in my coffee cup, too!

Dounia, since when do little girls drink coffee?

Let her, Mouné, she's only had a sip.

You see, Dounia...

You are still little, but you dance in the big world.

Place your thumb at the bottom of your cup.

Your cup is as white as snow and your future as bright as your eyes.

Inshallah!

It's time to work now.

If we do not start, we will never finish the cheese.

Ouli 3ala ammmmti!

This is a disaster!

I am out of barake seeds!

You scared me for no reason...

But it's true.

We absolutely cannot make the cheese without the seed.

What is this "labakay" seed?

The barake seed...

has great magical powers that ward off evil.

Dounia, run to the souk and get me some from Abdo!

Yallah!

Also, bring your grandfather home, please.

Darwich, you really are always such a joyful chap!

Always!

I'll only remove my tarboosh in Heaven, before my maker!

Inchallah, Darwich, inchallah!

Shh! Listen...

Watch out, Dounia!

Hello Sami!

Hello Abdo!

Give me half a kilo of 7-spice.

A thousand hellos!

As you please, sister.

Sweet pepper, black pepper, cardamom,

cinnamon, cloves, ginger and a tiny bit of nutmeg.

That comes to 7!

And an 8th secret ingredient

Oh! What did you add?

Ttt. I cannot tell you that.

It's a herbalist secret,

passed down by my father Abou Abdo, may he rest in peace.

That comes to one hundred liras.

What? A hundred liras?!

I bought a kilo a month ago for fifty liras.

Sister,

it gets harder to get goods at a decent price.

Is it my fault if the whole world is conspiring against us?

Listen, you are our customer and our customers are important.

Go ask other spice vendors.

If you find cheaper, I'll sell it to you half price!

Dounia! Ow, ow, ow, you're stretching my neck, Jeddo.

You forget my bones are older than Aleppo's citadel.

What are you doing there, Doudé?

Greetings, our little Dounia!

- What's new? - Abdo, I don't have time.

I have to get the barake seed to Téta,

because or else, evil will eat up all the cheese!

Wakh wakh...

But that is terrible.

Your grandma is right.

The seed of barake is magic.

Here.

Dounia, can you hear?

That's the bird in my belly talking.

Oh, oh oh oh there he is!

Oh, abouss roho!

But why is the birdie bird singing, Jeddo?

See, that means I'm famished.

Yallah, let's run on home!

You see, Dounia, this was Téta Mouné's home when she was little.

What about you, you knew her then, Jeddo?

Wallahou, Dounia,

we grew up together, your Téta and I.

And right here, I wrote "I love you" to Mouné.

Almost sixty years ago. Let's see...

Ah, here it is. Still there.

Every morning,

I would pick a small bouquet of jasmine, like this, just for her.

But so Jeddo, Téta, she is your sweetheart?

That's right, Dounia.

Ouli! What love story?

When I married Darwich, we were so timid, the both of us,

we barely held hands!

You love your old Darwich.

Darwich and I were born in the same alley, the same day.

We were born together and we will die together.

Inchallah!

Shlonék khayto. Hello!

Take this thing out of your hand, Lina!

Téta, you brought me enough barake seeds?

Bismillah!

There you go, the cheese is prepared for the year.

We'll come back for the pomegranate molasses!

Yii, the pomegranate just barely blossomed.

We'll need to wait till the end of summer for the fruit to ripen.

This morning, two car bombs exploded

in front of Security Headquarters, south of Damas.

According to the Minister of the Interior,

the vehicles contained more than a ton of explosives.

Akh akh akh akh.

I'm afraid we are heading straight toward a catastrophe, ya Mouné.

Things are not good, things are not good at all...

Yii! Again!

Ya rab!

Quiet, Darwich, you will worry the little one.

Anyway, what is written is written.

Fatmé! Do you have batteries?

Mine is almost empty!

Who has matches?

As if we needed that power failure!

Power up!

Whoa! That's cold, Téta!

Dounia, make an effort!

That's all the water we have left for today...

No water the last three days,

barely a few hours of electricity a week...

Everybody's on board the boat!

We're ready to go to Treasure Island!

The sea is calm,

But a great big storm is brewing...

Huge waves are coming at the boat, like this...

Bass! Here! This is for you!

Look! The boat didn't even sink!

It's getting closer to Treasure Island.

Oh! The passengers are saved.

They can find refuge on the island.

Hey, children! Stop fiddling in that water. It is soiled!

Sami, go home to your mama. It is late.

Dounia, come to the roof with me.

The Moon is full...

We will make eggplant jams.

To make the jams,

the eggplant needs to sit all night in the moonlight.

But why?

Because the moonlight will cook them without burning them.

That way, they'll stay tender before we drop them in the sugar.

So the Moon is magic?

Like the barake seed?

No, the barake seed is much more magical...

Though it is very small, it wards off evil...

Dounia! Mouné!

Ow ow ow!

Oh no, don't you dare start complaining!

The trouble has only just begun.

Dounia!

Mouné!

Darwich!

Take a breath.

No need to fear.

We are in a safe place here.

Téta, you're shaking!

No, ya Téta is just old, that's all.

Don't worry about it.

Téta, is it true about the war?

There is no war.

You will sleep and tomorrow, all will be fine.

Oh, but why does she say that?

No!

She just wants to spare the precious one.

Sooner or later, she will find out.

Children know everything. You know that!

Téta, but why is my baba in prison?

Because in this world, there is much injustice, my cherished one.

But forget all that. You will see.

Very soon, your dad will be back with us.

Tell me the story of the Princess of Aleppo!

You have heard it a million times, Dounia...

Please, I forgot it all because of the explosion!

They say the night lights up the spirit, and it is true.

I hold the truth of this in the story I will tell you now.

When the nights did not yet have moons

and they were so dark that we thought they would never end,

there was a young woman with a luminous face

and hair as shiny as the Milky Way.

Her name was Leyla, the Princess of Aleppo.

One day, Leyla went for a stroll along the seaside.

That day, there was a lot of wind...

Gusts of wind that blew so hard, so strong, that her scarf flew away

and her hair came loose, long and wavy like the waves.

On the other shore, high up on a very big mountain,

up in the clouds, lived a king.

A king who saw Leyla's scarf land on his knees.

Inside Leyla's scarf was one single hair.

A long black, shiny hair.

Fascinated, the king thought

this hair and scarf no doubt belonged to a very bright woman.

For the king was afraid of the dark

and needed advice on how to make it through the night.

So he called for Leyla to be brought before him.

And since that faithful day, Leyla sits beside the King of Clouds

and she is the one who, every night, lights his nights,

and ours,

with the stars in her hair and the sweet Moon of her face.

Touté touté, kholssét al hatouté!

That's beautiful!

Balderdash and silliness

we tell the children to hide the truth from them.

My brothers have all left the country already.

If this goes on, they'll have me come to their home at once!

I sure hope it doesn't come to that.

Pass me that knife for a second?

Hello, Mouné!

Darwich, going to the souk?

I hear the destruction was terrible and that they cut off access.

Exactly.

I'm heading there to see.

How courageous!

I wouldn't go anywhere near the citadel if I were you.

Mouné, come have coffee,

and try on your dress.

I don't feel good about this.

You be very careful,

Darwich, please, come back quickly.

Hey! You can't pass, hajji!

But since when can't I move around freely in my own city?

Who told you you could speak, huh? This is war time.

Come. It's time to head for home.

I have seen enough.

Jeddo, I don't like the war.

Nobody likes war, ya Dounia.

Not even the soldiers.

So why do they make it then?

Because their hearts are parched.

A thirsty heart shrinks down like a raisin, like a dried-up grape.

It can't see or hear anymore.

It completely loses sight of the difference between what heals

and what hurts, you see?

So we should bring them to the hammam to water their hearts!

Dounia, Dounia, you're a little magician!

Ah, if only it were that simple, ya Doudé.

If only...

Jeddo, will the war destroy everything?

Will Aleppo disappear?

Doudé sweetie, Aleppo is old, very old.

It has seen pretty much everything, you know.

And yet look, the citadel is still standing.

It watches over us.

And we the people of Aleppo are strong.

We never lose hope.

No, Jeddo, Aleppo will not be destroyed.

That won't happen.

It's just not possible.

- Sami! - Dounia!

But little man, you should not roam the streets like this.

It is not safe for you these days.

You are brave, my little Sami. But you be careful.

Min?

It's Darwich.

I'm here to bring Mouné home!

Ah, but why didn't you say that right away?

Ya Mouné! I see your husband

and granddaughter are here to bring you home.

I'm coming, yallah. Come with me.

Holy Virgin Mary...

It's coming from the side of your house!

...at the hands of rebels three weeks earlier.

A car bomb went off near Central Hospital

killing at least 30 people and injuring 64 among civilians,

including women and children.

Residents of the bombed areas are trying to flee

and are heading toward northern Syria by the hundreds.

But what did you put in there?

It's full to the rim!

Don't you get involved with women's business, Darwich.

I'm only taking a few things, nothing at all!

Mshalalé cheese, olives, makdous, some jams, basterma,

Aleppo pepper, a few spices and some nuts.

What do you expect us to do with all that, Mouné?

Leave everything behind.

Let's travel light!

I didn't bring my record player.

Yet you know I cannot live without music.

We can live without music.

We cannot live without eating!

You prefer to waste all the Mouné

I spent months preparing?

We never know when we might need it.

We can survive without music...

Music is the fuel of the soul!

Did you see everything she packed?

The suitcase will break.

Yallah!

It is not enough.

There are five of you.

The three women, you, and the little one.

Well, it's all we have left, my son.

You should be ashamed,

making money off people in this time of war.

What is going on?

I need to pay the border patrollers that will help you across the border.

There are five of you and mister only paid for three!

Here, take this.

Is that enough now? Yallah, get us out of here quickly now.

Very well, ma'am. I will take you all the way to the Turkish border.

I have made arrangements with customs officers.

They will let you through.

As soon as you get to the other side, you'll be able to reach the coast.

From there, you will cross the sea to Europe.

- Oh! - Yallah...

Many have done it before you, it will be okay.

THE SEA!?

Calm down, it will all be okay.

Jeddo, I don't want to leave.

I don't want to leave our home!

Jeddo, we never leave our home, do you know why?

No. Why, Jeddo?

Because your home is the whole wide world

and you carry it right here, in your heart.

Watch out!

Yallah!

Let's go.

Sami!

Don't you worry, my sweet moon,

Sami will go with his mamma to their village.

I know it's hard to leave.

Salam, my friends! Beautiful day, wouldn't you say?

Not really, you know...

Salam my son,

you too are leaving the country with us?

Yep...

It has become too dangerous around here. The world is ours!

My name is Djwane.

- Who are you? - Dounia!

Dounia!

That means "the world"!

You know you have a cute name?

And the girl with the pretty red hair, what is her name?

Lina!

Ayn Dara, the temple of Ishtar:

goddess of love and fertility!

She's a giant.

When she walks around,

the Earth trembles all around and it tickles the seeds in the soil.

So they germinate and plants grow aplenty...

You heard what he said?

Silly little coffee cup stories! Old wives tales!

Everybody knows giants don't exist!

Here we are. I don't go any further!

What?

And here go the problems!

Hey you! We paid so you would get us across the border!

You will not leave us here in the middle of nowhere!

We have old ladies and children with us!

So, you getting off? I have lots of things to do.

You see that shack way over there? Right after that, it's Turkey.

Walk straight in front of you. You will get there.

I told you I didn't like this one!

Imbecile!

We should burn his moustache!

Oulak Akh! Akh! Akh!

But what will happen to us?

That is our path, Dounia,

we must take it, despite its difficulties.

Now let's go.

Let me pull the suitcase for you, hajji.

Yallah Abdo.

Yallah! Onward!

I smell something burning, don't you smell that?

Let me see if I smell it.

Hey! You!

Nobody move!

Still wearing that, grandpa?

Look at him. He's still in 1910.

I will count to three

and you will go back where you came from.

Psst, Dounia!

The barake seed.

- One! - Yes!

It's magic!

Two.

Three.

But what can that be?

An earthquake?

What the heck is that?

But where did they go!?

- So...? - Nothing.

I don't know where they went.

But they can't be very far!

It's my uncle Joseph in Germany.

He says a man will wait for us on the coast of Izmir at 6

to board the boat to Greece.

He paid the smuggler?

We are almost out of money!

Yes, Mama.

That means we need to take the bus to the coast

as soon as we get to Izmir.

Each step forward takes us away from home.

This heat is unbearable,

I can't breathe!

Good idea, Djwane!

Oh Rozana, oh Rozana, you were so full of goods

What have you done to us, may you be punished

Oh Rozana, oh Rozana, you were so full of goods

What have you done to us, may you be punished

That's not bread there!

Stop being so difficult, Georgette!

I know Turkish bread is thicker than ours,

but it will be delicious with a little rose jam.

You see, Darwich? It's a good thing I brought some food!

Come! Taste!

Téta, why didn't the lady let her son have a bite of your sandwich?

They are afraid of us because we are sitting in the street.

They don't know we have lost everything because of the war.

They should just read the news.

The whole world is talking about it!

Oh, that's our bus! Time to go!

Here, Dounia, eat.

We still have a long way to go.

Sweet pepper, black pepper, nutmeg,

cardamom, and then cinnamon, cloves, ginger...

red pepper?

Galangal?

Tt-tt-tt.

Don't even try, you'll never guess.

I will tell you one day.

Once we are set up and know we are safe.

Our new home, it is in Greece, Jeddo?

In Greece or elsewhere,

I'm not sure where it will be yet, Dounia.

For now, we are a little bit like birds...

And the sky is the same for all the birds in the world...

Abdo, hold the little one for a second while I fix my veil.

Watch your step, Mouné. It's steep.

Lina, hold my hand.

Look, there's the smuggler!

The winds are getting stronger.

We should leave now to avoid the storm!

That is our boat?

Put on your safety vests. Let's go!

But why do we put on safety vests?

We can't all fit in this thing!

We have to, Abdo, it's the ocean or the bombs.

That's not coming with us.

- Too heavy. - No!

Yii! Mouné, be reasonable!

My zaatar, my jams, my pistachios, the best cheese...

She is right about that.

We really made the best cheese ever this year...

You'll replace all that, Mouné, I promise.

You will make the best cheese in the world

when we get to our new home!

Get on, one at a time please!

Get on first with Shams, Nisrine...

Lina, hold my hand.

I don't want to get my feet wet!

Where in tarnation did that one go already?

Ay! Time to go.

Stick with me.

Be brave, come on!

Yallah! Let's go!

Jeddo, I'm scared!

Dounia, let the ocean rock you.

It is as sweet as a mommy, the mother of the world.

It's over! Adios, world!

Adios, life!

Good-bye, Choum, till I see you in Paradise!

Breathe, you'll say good-bye later,

we're immortal!

Are we still far from the coast?

Hold on to the sides of the boat!

Ya 3adra, do not let us down!

Dounia, Dounia!

The Princess of Aleppo!

Dounia, don't be afraid...

You are even more beautiful than in my dreams!

That's because you see me with the eyes of your heart.

The heart's eyes see everything, even what is hidden.

Can they also tell where my new house will be?

Yes, my little bird. You will find your house.

And my baba?

Your baba, too,

but you must call them as loud as you can with your heart,

until they finally hear you.

And I will always be there,

as long as there are stars in the sky.

Don't be scared.

Sleep now.

Sleep, my little bird, I'll watch over you.

Swing and play, play and swing

Over the crowns of kings.

Over land and on the sea,

to all four corners please take me...

Jeddo, Téta!

It's the isle of treasures!

Nisrine, wake up! We are saved.

Ay! Wake up, you numbskull!

Huh? We're already in Paradise?

Have you ever heard of seagulls in Paradise?

Open your eyes!

Ah, it's beautiful!

My friends, let me welcome you to Greece!

Hold my hand, I'll help you disembark.

Melon poison!

We're saved, Choum!

To our new life!

My baby soap-bird!

You weren't too afraid?

You still smell of sweet Habibi, like the house in Aleppo!

Yallah Dounia, come with me!

I just can't wait to get to my brother's house in Germany.

We must quickly get to the port.

We will cross the island and head over to Athens.

I wonder how they make cheese in Greece.

We crossed the whole island on foot

through the hills.

We walked in the sun without eating all day and,

at night, we got to the port...

We got on a very big boat.

We got off in Athens.

There, we met a bunch of people.

We left all together, and we walked along the train track.

Baby Shams made his first baby steps,

without holding his mama's hand.

We slept along the side of the road... and we didn't eat much.

At the end, I was so tired and my feet hurt.

And we finally got here.

And touté touté kholsét al'hatouté.

That's our story!

And you know what?

My tooth is loose.

I think it's going to fall out soon.

Me? I've already lost two teeth.

And my daddy told me he'd get me some ice cream

when we get to our new country.

Me? My baba's in prison...

and my mama is with the King of the Clouds.

Oh!

So you have nobody to take care of you?

Sure.

I have my Jeddo and my Téta Mouné.

It's hard to leave.

But I mean, how could we have stayed?

But you know, never our country leaves us

when we carry it with us.

You know the story of the tree and the boat?

It says we all yearn for two opposites:

the need for a boat, which means travelling, freedom...

and the need for the tree, which is about roots,

a home, an identity.

We are always torn between these two needs,

till the day we come to understand that it's with the tree...

that we can build the boat.

I like the way you see things, Djwane.

Our roots that give us wings to explore the world.

It gives us new hope.

So we walked longer than my old bones could bear...

and we ended up here.

Hey there, you lovebirds!

Dounia! Don't you be so silly!

Jeddo, I'm cold!

So there you go.

We are like you.

Stuck here between the Greek and Macedonian border,

two countries we do not know.

My friend, we have camped here a whole week

and all our protests have not made them open the border.

Where are you hoping to go if they let us through?

Straight to my brother's in Germany.

If this trip doesn't kill me!

Germany too. I have a mate over there.

Let her live her life, Mrs. Dabbouss.

Djwane is a good fellow.

- He's a musician! - Lah!

We are going to find Nisrine's cousins in Sweden.

Sweden is a good country to raise the little one.

And to make him a little brother or a little sister.

We'll see about that.

I have my hands full with this one already!

And you, my friend. Where will you go?

Us?

We know nobody and nobody knows us.

The world is a big place.

God willing, we'll find asylum somewhere.

For now, we hardly have enough to eat or board a train...

Ttt. No no, Habibi!

Stop, Dounia, you will make me cry, too!

Ouakh!

If you start, Mouné, you'll get me started!

Ttt. Dirty war has left our lives in shambles.

Don't cry, Dounia.

Choose a song and I will sing it.

I-I don't know any songs...

No songs at all? I can't believe that...

Let me sing something that will warm your heart...

Djwane, play "Dounia wants a little house" for her.

Did you see that?

Next to that, the Turkish border was child's play.

You think they're going to let us through?

Or that they'll send us back to the bombs?

Oh no, that would be terrible for the little one!

The end of the world!

Oh, Choum, I'm crumbling!

Choum, am I crumbling?

Of course not, you silly drama queen!

We've been around for five thousand years.

We haven't said our last word.

Come with me instead of being such a karakoz.

- Let us pass! - Open the border!

Come on! Open the border!

- Open the border. - Open the border!

- Open the border! - Open the border!

Open the border! Open the border! Open the border!

They are wasting their spit!

They won't open the border unless there's a miracle!

Retreat, everyone!

The little one is exhausted.

Oh! Don't cry, Shams!

You made baby Shams cry!

He hasn't slept in his bed in days, he hasn't had good milk,

he's cold, he's hungry,

he's afraid and he's just a little baby!

Your hearts are tiny like little dried raisins!

Yes!

Allah 3aleik ya Darwich!

Look! It's a whirling Darwich!

Yallah! Music is fire for the soul, my friends!

Ah! The Danube!

A mythical river!

It flows through many countries.

It even goes to Germany.

At least, he doesn't need to show a passport!

There's Budapest Station!

Mouné, take the train with us.

My brother said they accept all migrants in Germany.

Ninety eight,

ninety nine,

one hundred!

Passage closed!

Papers. Passports.

Oh! Putrid pepper!

That's it. We've hit the number of migrants that can pass.

Step back! Step back!

Don't worry about us!

Yallah! Go ahead, you will miss the train!

Darwich, take the money.

No, no, it's okay, Abdo!

You don't know how long you will all be stuck here.

Think of the little one.

Thank you, Abdo.

Yallah, go to the four corners of the earth

so everybody can discover your famous 7-spice mix.

By the way, what is your secret ingredient?

Darwich, ask me anything you want,

except to reveal my secret ingredient,

it is passed down from generation to generation!

Mouné, I will send news as soon as I make it to my brother's.

Inchallah Georgette, inchallah!

Hold on to your tarboosh!

I'll only take it off when I make it to paradise!

- See you soon! - Have a nice trip, everybody!

- Bye, baby Shams! - Salam! Have a nice trip!

Isn't this nice?

This will be our nest until we find a house that needs to be lived in.

Houses need to find people, Jeddo?

Of course, Dounia.

Houses have souls and they are looking for us, too.

Everything you look for is looking for you.

Rosalie, it's fall now, it's getting cold,

I brought you a tuque.

It's a cute little house.

I inherited it from my grandma.

I set out to renovate it completely before winter

but I don't know who's gonna live in it.

This is a small town with more houses than people!

Just like Algeria.

Everybody deserts the villages to live in the big cities.

Are you safe at least?

When will you make it to Germany?

We are still stuck in Budapest.

A problem of maximum number of immigrants to pass.

We have our hands tied for now.

So all we can do is wait.

Finally, alhamdoullilah, we are still alive, huh?

Choum, it's time.

Everything's fine for now.

Hello, Dounia!

Huh? Stones that can talk?!

We are more than silly little stones.

My name is Choum.

I'm 5560 years old exactly.

Sixty-one! Tomorrow it'll be 61!

This is Ay, he's my age but...

As you can see, he's not the sharpest tool in the shed.

I know!

You're the wide-eyed statues like in baba's book!

That's us!

Dounia!

You know we were there when you were born?

And when Téta Mouné was born,

and when Téta Mouné's Téta was born and when Téta...

Okay! She gets it!

What you must know...

is that we are so old that we have seen pretty much everything.

What are you doing?

I'm writing a letter to our new house so it can find us.

But that is brilliant!

But this letter will need wings if you want it to fly somewhere.

Real wings??!

Ah! My little soap-bird from Aleppo!

My little bird, you have wings,

you can fly and bring the letter with you.

Maybe he is hungry.

We can't do much when we are starving.

Oh, I know!

Here, my little bird!

Munch on this barake seed!

How beautiful!

Daddy! Mommy! A letter just fell from the sky!

Ah. You have a lot of imagination, sweetie.

But it did, look!

That's pretty weird!

It looks like a letter from a child but written in a foreign language!

Hey, that's Arabic!

What does the letter say, Karim?

Listen. I will translate.

"Dear new house, it's me Dounia.

I am 6 and a half and I lost my country because of the war.

I am in the train station with my grandparents in 'Dubabest'.

We have no place to go.

House, if you find our letter, please call us!"

Oh! There is a phone number at the bottom.

Oh well, I think this house has found its family.

Salam Alaikum, my friend!

My name is Karim

and I am calling from Canada!

I am with a family who received a letter from little Dounia!

Huh? A letter from Dounia?!

- Yes. - What letter, Dounia?

There is a house for you in Canada.

Shh! Oh wait, wait, wait...

A home for us in Canada?

A home?

Baba habibi,

it's been a year since Jeddo,

Téta and I have made it to our new house.

I am 7 now; I've already had two birthdays without you.

Dounia!

I have a new friend.

Her name is Rosalie.

She has red hair and a bunch of stars on her face.

I really like to play with her.

Lina and Djwane are engaged.

They are in Germany with Mrs. Dabbouss.

She calls Téta Mouné every day.

Yes, Mouné!

I started making the kibbeh!

Yii, did you find burghul on your end?

Baby Shams is still just as adorable

and now he runs all around the house.

He will soon have a little sister.

Abdo sells his 7-spice mix in Sweden.

Jeddo says he will make a fortune

thanks to his secret ingredient that makes his mix so magical.

And... a barake seed.

Every day, I think about Aleppo,

the citadel, our house, my canary who is now up in the sky, and Sami.

I hope he is alright and that he thinks about me, too.

Baba, I love you;

I miss you very much, like the whole world.

I called you during my whole trip.

I asked for news from you;

I asked the trees, the seashells,

the rivers, the birds,

the planets, the stars,

and even the Princess of Aleppo.

I am sure she will guide you straight to me.

But in the meantime, you are like a bird.

And the sky is the same for all the birds in the world.

And don't be afraid even when it's very dark

because the Princess of Aleppo will always be there,

as long as there are stars in that sky and that the moon appears.

Touté Touté kholsset al Hattouté!

According to the UN,

more than 6.6 million people have fled Syria since 2011

and another 6 million have moved within the country itself.

Although this film tells the reality of many Syrians since 2011,

this is a fictional story.

The characters, events and situations

are purely imaginary, metaphorical or symbolic.

This film is dedicated to Aleppo, a thousand-year-old crossroads city,

whose tangible and intangible heritage is threatened

and to its inhabitants, whose resilience is exemplary.