Skip to main content
Neighbour Abdi film image, director Douwe Dijkstra

Neighbour Abdi

Canadian Premiere

How can you understand a violent history? Abdi reenacts his life in Somalia, marked by war and criminality, with the help of his neighbour and filmmaker Douwe Dijkstra (Green Screen Gringo, MODES 2016). Through playful reconstructions in a special effects studio, they embark on a candid and investigative journey through Abdi’s painful past, focusing on the creative process.

Director
Credits
Country of Origin

The Netherlands

Year

2022

Language

In Dutch and Somali with English subtitles

Film Contact
29 min

Featured in:

Parasite Family film image, director Prapat Jiwarangsan

MODES 2

Looking closer at archival images and stories from the past, these artists re-examine and re-create to establish history anew. A daring mix of approaches that excavate new ways of seeing old perspectives.

 

MORE INFO

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

Titanic

Dir. James Cameron
197 min

James Cameron's romantic disaster movie spent 17 weeks topping the box office charts on its way to a $2 billion gross and 11 Academy Awards. Not too shabby for such a harrowing experience (and that's just the love scenes).

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Cookie Queens

Dir. Alysa Nahmias
91 min

A documentary about the annual Girl Scouts' cookie sale is probably not high on your list of must-sees, but don't be too sure — this movie is a delight, a rare celebration of girlhood, supportive family relations, and the art of salesmanship.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

A Simple Machine

Dir. Mark Hoffman
97 min

Cutting costs, swapping four wheels for two, Nick is downsizing to pay off his student debt. It's a path which leads to savings he had not anticipated, even if his girlfriend thinks he's losing it (and she may be right). A lean, low budget gem.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Jackie Brown

Dir. Quentin Tarantino
154 min

Take half a dozen characters who know they're in a fix, and give them half a million dollars to fight over. Tarantino's crime movie (his best) transcends genre in large part because in Pam Grier and Robert Forster it gives us people we truly care about.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Gummo

Dir. Harmony Korine
95 min

Harmony Korine was just 24 when he made Gummo. It's become a cult favourite as much for its singularity as anything else: it's a strange, misshapen beast, a slice of beat poetry translated into experimental film.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Princess Mononoke

Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
134 min

A mystical fight between humans and the Animal Gods of the forest. Ashitaka, the last prince of a dying race, struggles to find a way for both sides to co-exist. But the fighting only becomes more and more bloody and all hope seems to be lost…

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Credits

Producer

Richard Valk

Screenwriter

Douwe Dijkstra, Abdiwahab Ali

Cinematography

Douwe Dijkstra

Editor

Douwe Dijkstra

Original Music

Rob Peters

Director

Douwe Dijkstra headshot, Neighbour Abdi director

Douwe Dijkstra

Douwe Dijkstra is a filmmaker and visual artist from the Netherlands. He studied Illustration Design at the ArtEZ University of the Arts. His work is a mixture of video, animation, and VFX, and can be described as both humorous and socially engaged. His projects range from short films and documentaries to video installations and theatre performances.