Film screening Mencari Hilal

Director: Ismail Basbeth, colour, 94 Min., 2015

We are happy to invite you to the next installment of the ArtHouse Cinema program on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. This time we will screen the film called Mencari Hilal directed by Ismail Basbeth.

For Mahmud there can be no more noble aim than to lead a pious life in accordance with the teachings of Islam. Islam, Mahmud is convinced, has a solution for every problem.

When he hears that the government has spent a fortune on determining the ‘Hilal’ (the crescent moon that marks the start of the Ramadhan month of fasting), Mahmud is dismayed. He remembers the old days when determining the ‘Hilal’ was a tradition at his Islamic school, though this already came to an end many years ago when the school was closed. Mahmud gets it into his head that he will revive the tradition and show that the ‘Hilal’ can be determined even without spending large sums of money.

However, Mahmud’s children are concerned about his health, so it is decided that his youngest son Heli should accompany him on his search for the ‘Hilal’. Heli, a liberal environmental activist, long ago became estranged from his religious father – although they repeatedly find themselves in conflict on their joint journey, they also gradually come closer to one another again. 

   
 
 

Back