Clapper (NR)

synopsis

Deir Mar Moussa, Syria: Who are the inhabitants of this isolated monastery near the Iraqi border, and what has brought them here? Documentarian Ammar Al-Beik investigates, revealing a polyglot community that's simple yet surprisingly social and connected to the world. Alongside the monks' discussions of daily rituals, globalization and Islamic-Christian dialogue, Al-Beik makes explicit the dialogue between camera and subject, and the filmmaker's own rituals and sacred objects. The result is a canny, often funny exploration of faith and devotion in the modern world.