Macondo

Ramasan has to take on a lot of responsibility for an eleven-year-old. In traditional Chechen society, he has been considered the man of the house since the death of his father and has to take care of his mother and two younger sisters. His world is set in Macondo, a rough refugee settlement in the middle of an industrial area on the outskirts of Vienna. Ramasan speaks German much better than his mother Aminat, and he often acts as a translator for her during official business. Aminat depends on his help as she copes with the loss of her husband, the flight from Chechnya and the hard everyday life as a working single mother in a foreign society. Ramasan's narrow world breaks open when Isa, a war buddy of her dead father, moves into the housing estate. But when Aminat begins to take an interest in Isa, Ramasan begins to feel an emotional conflict. He feels the urge to protect the image of his dead father ... MACONDO, Sudabeh Mortezai's first feature film, had its world premiere in competition at the Berlinale 2014.

"Because of my own migration story, MACONDO is also a very personal film to which I have a strong emotional connection." SUDABEH MORTEZAI