Written & Directed By

Ahmed moawad

Director’s Statement:

This story was inspired by a personal experience I once lived.

One night, I heard a commotion outside my apartment door. I went out and found a young boy — one of the new neighbors — chasing a frightened pigeon with a stick. I stopped him and confronted him in a firm tone. Startled, he repeated fearfully, “I didn’t hit it, I didn’t hit it,” then ran away.

I picked up the pigeon, tried to calm it, then decided to release it from the staircase window. But it didn’t fly. It just stayed still. I waited until dawn, then left it and went back to my apartment.

A few days later, I learned from my former neighbor that the pigeon used to live near his birds’ nests. He would sometimes feed it, and it had gotten used to entering the apartment. As for the boy — he was only trying to bring it back to where it belonged. That’s when doubt began to set in.

Was I right to stop the boy?
Did I intervene out of compassion, or out of a need for control?
Was the pigeon truly in danger, or did I impose my own perception on a situation I didn’t fully understand?

The questions began to pile up:
Do we have the right to decide the fate of another living being?
Does kindness justify harm?
Are our principles truly solid, or are they illusions we cling to so we don’t have to admit our ignorance?
And when does the sense of righteousness turn into authority over others?

That’s where the film was born.