The Coachman

Directed by Seif Eddin Subaie

In the alleys of old Damascus, Abdo makes his living driving a horse-drawn carriage — an honest man in a neighbourhood ruled by the scheming Abu Hamza Al-Nashwati, who has stolen his dead brother's inheritance and turned the whole quarter against anyone who stands in his way. When Abdo falls for a girl and dares to defy the powerful family, a personal conflict spirals into a battle between ordinary decency and entrenched corruption. A warm, character-driven Syrian period drama starring Bassem Yakhour and Salloum Haddad.