Denmark 2026, 93 min, HDA GotFat Production
by Daro Hansen, Thomas Papapetros
REQUEST A SCREENING Little Sinner
In 2007 Damascus, Daro, a non-Muslim student, enters a pro-forma engagement to protect her family, only to face a brutal forced marriage. With her Danish boyfriend's help, she escapes to Denmark. However, the Syrian civil war triggers her trauma, leading her to work in refugee crises across Lebanon and Greece. Using 20 years of archival material, LITTLE SINNER explores how her deepest pain stems from her mother's abandonment during the abuse.Daro, a young journalism student, agrees to the pro-forma engagement to a stranger to protect her sick mother and her family's honor. What was meant to be a temporary solution quickly escalates into a brutal reality of violence, rape, and confinement within a forced marriage. With the help of her boyfriend Toke, a Danish exchange student, Daro manages to escape the relationship and start a new life in Denmark. But even in safety, the past casts long shadows. When the Syrian civil war breaks out, Daro's repressed trauma is triggered, and she throws herself into the refugee crises in Lebanon and Greece to help others, repeatedly fleeing the stability of her life in Denmark. Told through 20 years of personal archival material, LITTLE SINNER reveals a shocking truth: Daro's deepest trauma stems not from the physical violence she endured, but from her mother abandoning her to the abuser. The film is an unflinching look at social control, human resilience, and a woman's journey to confront her past in order to heal.
CPH:DOX (nom. for DOX:AWARD), DocsBarcelona (Intl. Premiere), Biografilm (Winner Education Award, nom. Intl. Competition)