RECYCLE (EA' ADAT KHALK)

Abu Amar, a Jordanian ex-Mujahid and father of eight children, used to run a supermarket that he named 'Al Jihad'. Now he gathers cardboard on the streets of Zarqa, Jordan's second largest city, in order to scrape together a living for his family. As his situation deteriorates Abu has to make a radical decision. This is a revealing and beautifully shot portrait of a desperate man, whose religious beliefs are put to the test in the face of humiliating poverty. Director Mahmoud al-Massad illustrates the tensions that exist in the city in which he himself grew up and which was also the place of birth of the notorious Al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab az-Zarqawi. Through the lives of Abu Amar, his family and neighbours, we are taken to the roots of Muslim fundamentalism, with its seemingly endless cycle of poverty and degradation that seems to produce an ever replenishing source of men who are prepared to take part in Jihad. "It really doesn't surprise me that someone like Zarqawi came from here," the director states. "There is a sense in Zarqa that there is really very little to lose by going to fight."

"Recycle is one of those subtle, taciturn, underplayed documentaries that forces its audience to work at teasing out meanings. It's Errol Morris, in other words, rather than Michael Moore." – Screen Daily

"If someone on the street walks up to you and punches you in the face, isn’t your first reaction to ask him why? That is what I wanted to see in Zarqa; what are the realities of this place, what is it like to live in such an environment, what are the stories that are not being heard?" - Mahmoud al-Massad