프로그램 노트

Abdi, a Dutch immigrant from Mogadishu, Somalia, is jailed and released from prison for his wrong choice. His neighbour, the director, combines Abdi’​s talent with his specialty to reconstruct his youth, which had been marked by violence and crime. Abdi’​s appearance on the green screen, moving in between soldiers and civilians, perpetrators and victims, comes as threatening and disturbing within the special effect, but it also looks pleasant and safe if you peel off a single layer. Perhaps the director wants to recreate Abdi’​s memory and prove that his wrong choice was not due to his nature, but to an inevitable background. That’​s why it’​s significant to align two photographs of him of the same age side by side. In this context, you can see why the film title was named ‘Neighbour Abdi,’ not ‘Memory of Abdi.’ The Pardino d’​argento SRG SSR winner at the 75th Locarno Film Festival. (KI Hyungmin)