Under the guise of a photojournalist sympathetic towards Salafi jihadism , Talal Derki is allowed to enter a village controlled by the al-Nusra Front close to the front line of the Syrian Civil War , and stays with the Osama family . The family patriarch Abu Osama is a enthusiastic fanatic , openly praising the September 11 attacks and naming his children after the leaders of al-Qaeda and the Taliban . He works as a sniper and as a mine remover , and removes his children from school due to coeducation . The children , in particular the eldest son Osama , become increasingly prone to fighting and bullying . During a mission , Abu ’s left lower leg is blown off by a mine . Shortly afterwards , the children are sent to a terrorist training camp . The boys face harsh conditions , and quickly become homesick . After returning home , Abu ’s treasured books are destroyed in an airstrike by the Russian Air Force , and he lives by selling components from disarmed mines to bombmakers . He remains committed to his belief that the war will lead to an apocalyptic Third World War between a revived Caliphate and the Christian world and bring on the victory of the Mahdi against the Antichrist . At the camp , Osama advances along and is prepared for further military training , while his younger brother Ayman does not do well and wants to return to school . Abu takes the decisive step of teaching Osama how to shoot a gun . Before Osama leaves for a more intensive camp , he shares a riddle with Ayman . Osama undergoes three years of training and indoctrination , while Ayman returns to school . As Osama ’s brigade is driven to the front for the first time and as Talal leaves to return home to Berlin , he explains that Ayman and Osama continued down their separate paths into their teenage years , and reflects upon the deep devastation of Syria . Derki mentioned in an interview that he stayed there about 2 years and half and the effective filming days were 330 days
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Of Fathers and Sons