HALF MOON

HALF MOON
Frank Scheffer | Netherlands 2025 | 92' | OmenglU

Portrait of a world-class Arab musician: Kinan Azmeh began his musical training in Damascus, his birthplace, and later studied not only clarinet but also composition in New York (at the renowned Juilliard School, among others).

The outbreak of civil war in Syria in 2011 turned the cosmopolitan, who had always remained actively involved in traditional Syrian music, into an artist in exile. The film follows Azmeh over several years. During this period, he tries to overcome his identity and meaning crisis, travels around the world on concert tours with other outstanding musicians (including Yo-Yo Ma) - including a performance in Beirut, but also in Hamburg's Elphi! -in Beirut, visits former mentors and, above all, continues to develop his unique style of improvised composition. By collaborating with other displaced artists, in particular by staging an ambitious opera that deals directly with war, Azmeh impressively underlines the importance of Arab artists telling their own stories and that art has the potential to address pressing issues and comment on current events, even in the field of presupposition-rich classical music.

The film contrasts rousing live performances with intimate scenes of Azmeh working in his native New York, spending time with his family and introducing his young son to his cultural heritage. A multi-layered, thoughtful, patient exploration of music's potential to create community and connection, which has found new resonance in light of recent events in Syria and the resurgence of hope among many fellow refugees that they will one day be able to return home.