For Sama (2019)
For Sama will be the single most heart-wrenchingly honest film you have ever seen. No amount of acting, elite accolades or story manipulation will ever compare to the genuine truth captured by a woman with a camera in Syria. It is truly an honor and a privilege to see this film.
This feature-length documentary is an extraordinary account of the war in Syria in general, and the siege of Aleppo in particular. It was carved from over 500 hours of footage, filmed by the director out of a compulsive need to document what she saw and went through. As much as it is about the turbulence and turmoil, it is also a deeply personal account. It spans her transition from student to revolutionary to journalist, and her experience of kinship, love, and motherhood. What stands out is her ability to coherently capture all of that.
It is a rare war documentary in which you don’t see the frontline or any guns going off. There are a few bombings, and you frequently see the ravages up close, but the focus is clearly on what the civilians are going through. You sense their fears and tensions, you see their grief and agony, but all throughout, you also see the strong undercurrent of resilience and hope that drives them forward and is their biggest uniting force.
Here’s a link to the trailer.
Here’s a link to a 3 minute introduction to this film from Channel 4 News, along with links to where this can be streamed. I also noticed a reddit post with additional upload links.