Khaled asks Mazdak to help him with his search for his sister, Miriam, who was lost during their journey through the Balkans for refuge from the Syrian Civil War.

Waldemar sees pools of blood when he gets home, and goes out to find Khaled sitting under a tree on the bank of a river, smiling as a small dog licks his face.

[5] Sherwan Haji won the part of Khaled after answering a casting call for a Middle Eastern actor, Syrian preferred.

[6] Haji commented he drew on his personal experiences to play the character, saying "It took me maybe 10 minutes to just close my eyes and think that I'm home, and then all of a sudden it rain bombs".

[5] In December 2016, it was announced The Other Side of Hope would play in competition at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.

[11] A. O. Scott of The New York Times said the film was "humane and gravely funny" and "at once honest and artful, a touching and clearsighted declaration of faith in people and in movies."

Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times noted: "Full of brilliantly offhand gags and harrowing plot turns, this delightful comic fable expresses a belief in human decency, in the way things could be if only we all tried a little harder, that feels wise and hopeful rather than naive".