A 52 minute documentary.

Sémiramis is French, and Eastern Christian, and Assyro-Chaldean.  In the Val-d’Oise region, this community, originally from Turkey and Iraq, has lived since the 1980s in a rhythm marked by weddings, church services, and family meals.

Shaped by the exile of their parents and the persecution their community faced under the Turkish dictatorship and Daesh, Sémiramis nurtures her roots in Assyrian civilization, originating from Mesopotamia. But the puzzle of her history no longer fits together as it once did.

Gradually, the elders are disappearing, taking with them an identity and culture that is 6,000 years old.

How can this fracture be repaired, and this heritage preserved? Should they consider staying or returning to their ancestral homeland, now that peace has returned? Can one go back after decades of conflict? Can they rebuild and start anew to live in peace with themselves and others?

“Return to Babylon” is a road movie from Sarcelles to Erbil, following Sémiramis and her family on a journey that leads them to question their future in France and the fate of their community in the Middle East.