Before Snowfall

Wrapped in plastic film 16-year-old Siyar is sent across the border illegally in the oil tank of a truck. The Kurdish boy from a small village in Iraq has an assignment: He is to kill his older sister Nermin and thus save the “honour” of his family. For Nermin loves Azad and is not willing to consent to the marriage arranged by clan chief Agha. On the night before her forced marriage, she flees to Europe. But Agha is powerful and commands Siyar, the oldest boy of the family, to commit the “honour killing”. At first, his journey takes him to Istanbul, then to Greece and to Berlin. Everywhere Agha’s accomplices await him, provide him with necessities and repeatedly exert pressure on Siyar. Gradually the 16-year-old begins to doubt the sense of his mission. The experience gained on his dangerous journey, especially his encounter with the girl Evin, has changed him. Evin lives as a street child and pickpocket in Istanbul. She needs money to visit her father in Berlin. Although she also steals money from Siyar, the two become friends and hit the road together. When Evin hears about Siyar’s plan, she tries to dissuade her new friend from doing it. However, Siyar does not dare to oppose the clan. Torn between the order and his feelings for Evin, he ends up in a suburb of Oslo, where his sister has found refuge.