Two activists from two different generations embark on a perilous journey as the situation in Syria becomes more fraught with danger.
In Douma, a suburb of Damascus outside Assad regime control, where the dissident intellectuals Yassin al-Haj Saleh and his wife Samira Khalil have sought shelter, they meet the young photographer and fighter Ziad Homsi.
Yassin and Ziad travel to Raqqa, Yassin’s hometown newly occupied by ISIS. Deciding to go into exile in Turkey, Yassin hopes for a reunion with Samira who remained in Douma; while Ziad hopes to travel back to Douma. But in the place Yassin calls “our terrible country,” choices have tragic consequences.
In Arabic with English subtitles.
Director Mohammad Ali Atassi will participate in a post-screening Q&A.
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Bidayyat [Beginnings] in Syrian Revolutionary Non-fiction: Three revolutionary nonfiction Syrian films from Beirut-based production hub Bidayyat, each followed by post-screening discussions with the filmmakers.
This series is copresented by World Records and the Toronto Arab Film Festival.
Supported by the Jackman Humanities Institute’s Program for the Arts and the Cinema Studies Institute at the University of Toronto.
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