“For Sama.” The life of a young Syrian woman in Aleppo under the bombs.

“For Sama”: A Glimpse into the Syrian Hell Through the Lens of an Aleppo Resident

A narrative from the viewpoint of a journalist residing in a Palestinian village.

S. Barret

Mr Mondialisation, 21/09/2019

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“For Sama” is an Anglo-Syrian documentary by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts. Set in Aleppo, Waad al-Kateab was a young Syrian student when the civil war erupted in her country in 2011. She later married one of the last remaining doctors in the besieged city. The couple made the decision to stay in Syria, assist the war victims, and fight for their country. Amidst this chaos, their daughter, Sama, was born. For five years, the mother documented their daily life as the father attended to the conflict’s victims. These footages were woven into a unique feature film dedicated to Sama, which is indescribable [it began screening in France in October – ed].

“We didn’t think the world would let this happen” (Waad)

The film is often described as an unfiltered plunge into the horrific atrocities endured by the Syrian people. These atrocities, which marked the daily life of Aleppo’s residents, were relentlessly captured by Sama’s mother, Waad al-Kateab, throughout the five-year war: the repression, bombings, and deaths. However, the young Syrian woman also highlighted the unseen hopes, solidarity among the people of Aleppo, and the efforts of her husband Hamza and the medical staff in saving lives in a makeshift hospital with limited resources but abundant mutual aid.

Far from being merely a war documentary, Waad captured the story of her own life from 2011 to 2016 (the year her family finally escaped to the UK) without any commentary. She was a fourth-year student at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Aleppo when the first protests against the Assad regime began in 2011.

Self-taught in operating a camera, Waad began capturing the events unfolding around her. She never anticipated that, eight years later, her footage would form a feature film. Her aim was to document the Syrian protests, the atrocities of war, and the unacknowledged crimes of Bashar El Assad’s regime, which didn’t hesitate to massacre its own citizens to retain power. Since 2011, the country has witnessed over 500,000 casualties, as estimated by various NGOs. “I wanted to provide my testimony and highlight the humanity that persisted amidst the death and destruction that dominated the headlines,” she said.

Being a woman enabled her to interact with other women and children, which is quite rare. She also depicted how they all strived to live as normally as possible amidst the siege of the bombarded city and the fight for freedom. In “For Sama,” Waad also shares her personal experiences of living, getting married, and having a child during the war, never forgetting her role as an eyewitness and a “citizen journalist,” a role she valued highly.
“I felt a profound responsibility towards my city, its people, and my friends: I had to narrate their story so that it would never be forgotten, and no one could distort the reality we lived through.”

The rawness of the images lends them narrative power

Waad’s film is a message to her daughter, which is reflected in the title. It is meant to explain why her parents chose to stay in Aleppo and what the freedom they fought for means. Using voiceover, she narrates the recent history of Syria, from the slow emergence of the revolution to the bloody military repression that followed, all set against a backdrop of protest images. She presents the daily life in a city gradually transformed into a war zone. Waad doesn’t shy away from close-ups, such as the bodies of dozens of activists who were tortured and then executed with a bullet to the head by regime supporters they opposed, to further inform the viewer.

Public executions serve as warnings, yet they fail to shatter the tenacity of the revolutionaries.

Camera in hand, Waad guides us through her daily life, making us feel as if we’re standing right beside her. We’re jolted alongside her when a bomb, a missile, or a projectile detonates nearby, filling the air with dust. The Syrian regime and the Islamic State have even used chlorine gas against the populace. The hospital where Waad, her family, the volunteer medical staff, and other refugees work is not spared — it too is a target of bombings. This blatant disregard for life is hard to mask, even with feeble political commentary. The images are clear and leave no room for doubt. These committed volunteers then move on to other bombed sites to rescue the wounded and retrieve those buried in the rubble. However, as the situation worsens, they are forced to remain confined to the hospital. Aerial photographs from 2016 reveal Aleppo reduced to a heap of ruins.

“I continue to film. It gives me a reason to be here. It makes the nightmare more bearable.” (Waad)

Throughout the film, we naturally align with Waad and the people she films. This is particularly true when she describes her relationship with her boyfriend Hamza, a medical fighter who later becomes her husband. Their “simple but beautiful” wedding was marked by songs that drowned out the sound of bombs. We sense the deep bond that unites this group of survivors. We share Waad’s anxiety as she searches for her daughter amidst a new missile attack on the hospital. Waad and Hamza agonize over their daughter’s unimaginable living conditions but can’t bear to leave the city. We’re appalled by the sight of traumatized, bloodied children in tears. Bodies pile up in the hospital corridors, where exhausted staff administer first aid on the floor. As time passes, the hospital — the last one standing in the city — struggles to accommodate the wounded without knowing how to help them. Injured adults and children who can’t always be saved.

Waad regularly shares her thoughts and fears, the dread of death that resurfaces with the sound of Russian or Syrian planes and helicopters announcing airstrikes. We can’t help but share Waad’s grief when she recounts the death of her friends, who we’d seen just a few scenes earlier. Our empathy surges at the sight of parents kissing their deceased child and the agony of the helpless doctors.

How can we merely discuss “cinema” in the face of such unfiltered imagery? Yet, we also find ourselves smiling at the fleeting moments of joy that manage to permeate the couple’s precarious daily life, such as the birth of their daughter, Sama.

In the intervals between bombings, people strive to maintain a semblance of normalcy, a form of resistance against the regime despite the escalating scarcity of food and eventually, electricity. Children swim in improvised pools, which are essentially shell craters filled with water from ruptured pipes. Schools persist, albeit relocated underground to shield them from bombings, where children continue their education as best as they can. One child, when queried about his future career aspirations, expressed a desire to become an architect to rebuild Aleppo. Another child, with a resigned tone, spoke of his deceased friends, victims of rocket attacks or buried under debris. The chasm between the relentless present and the uncertain future appears vast.

As the Russians advance on Aleppo, Waad (expecting her second daughter), her family, and the beleaguered inhabitants of Aleppo are compelled to flee the city in December 2016. They depart with the bitter aftertaste of defeat and the sense of futile sacrifice. However, Waad ensures she carries with her all the footage she had filmed. These clips had already been transmitted in January to the British TV channel, Channel 4, to be integrated into a series of reports titled Inside Aleppo. This series subsequently shattered viewership records in the UK. Waad’s videos, which have been viewed online nearly half a billion times, have received twenty-four awards, including an Emmy in 2016. The production of a full-length film is now underway.

However, the process of editing the film was far from painless. The constant replay of death-ridden images stirred up painful memories for Waad, forcing her to relive horrific moments. To accomplish the project in the best possible manner, she relied on the support of a dedicated team, notably co-director Edward Watts, who already had twenty films and documentaries under his belt (Escape from Isis, Oksijan). Watts is a director who excels at narrating stories that celebrate humanity, bravery, and universal heroism.

Waad found Watts’ assistance invaluable in articulating her experiences and expressed her gratitude with these words, “He understood the weight I was carrying. Together, we managed to distill from the complexity of my experience the story you see today…”. Watts, reflecting on his collaboration with Waad, said, “Through Waad’s story, the world can finally see what really transpired, comprehend our tragic errors, and hopefully, ensure it never recurs. It was an honour and a genuine privilege to create this film with her.”

In the closing scenes of the film, Waad imparts a message to her daughter, “I eagerly await the day you grow up, Sama, and share your feelings with me. I want you to understand that our fight was for the most crucial cause. It was for you and all our children, so you would not have to endure what we did. Everything we did was for you, Sama.”

Awards and accolades:

– Festival de Cannes 2019, Sélection Officielle – Séance spéciale, Best Documentary Award
– SXSW Film Festival: Best Documentary
– Hot Docs Festival: Special Jury Prize
– Seattle International Film Festival: Best Documentary
– Sheffield International Documentary Festival: Best Documentary
– Lighthouse International Film Festival: Best Documentary
– Newport Beach Film Festival: Best Documentary
– RiverRun International Film Festival: Best Documentary
– VC FilmFest – Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival: Best Documentary

We leave the final words to Waad, who now resides in London with her husband Hamza and their two daughters, “Although ‘For Sama’ narrates my story and my family’s journey, our experience is not unique. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have lived through the same and continue to live in these conditions today. The dictator responsible for these atrocities remains in power, relentlessly killing innocent people. Our fight for justice remains as relevant as ever.”

S. Barret

Mtf. S.S.