Kaddish for a Friend

A warm tale about an unlikely friendship between two lonely, displaced characters. Alexander is an 84-year-old Jewish war veteran who is desperate to remain living independently in his Berlin flat. Palestinian teenager Ali’s family arrive from a refugee camp in Lebanon, and to gain acceptance from his new peers, Ali agrees to break-in to his next-door neighbor’s flat. When Alexander comes back to his ransacked home, he recognizes Ali, and to avoid being deported, Ali’s family send him back to repair the damage. As they work side by side, the relationship between the feisty pair flits between mutual dislike, understanding and finally friendship, when they realize that the fragile existence of each depends in a large part on the other. Inspired by a true story, Moscow-born, German director Leo Khasin’s debut is a stirring, coming-of-age story that shows just how hard unlearning prejudice can be.