Thirteen-year-old Iraqi-Kurdish Jamal feels like an outsider in the Amsterdam Bijlmer neighborhood of the 1980s. With his part-time job at Jalil’s shawarma shop, he saves up for the Nikes that will finally make him fit in, because the neighborhood boys laugh at him for his fake versions. At the shawarma shop, the mysterious Enik teaches him about his roots, and that they are worth more than any pair of sneakers. When those same neighborhood boys storm into the shop and threaten Jalil, Jamal discovers that the strength he sought was always within himself.

Director: Philip J. Rachid
Genre: Drama, fantasy
Lengte: 13 min
Status: Completed
Year: 2026