For Sama (2019)
An intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war.
Director: Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.
Trailer
Director
Waad al-Kateab
Edward Watts
Cast
Sama Al-Khateab
Hamza Al-Khateab
User Reviews (2)
'For Sama' is a tough watch, made even harder knowing that the neighbouring city of Idlib is currently under siege in the same way. It is also a beautifully edited and narrated piece that needs to reach as many people as possible, since we have no perception of what the Syrian war was like via traditional news media. This is an important, must-watch film. - Jake Watt Read Jake's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-for-sama-an-emotionally-devastating-must-watch
There’s an anachronistic normality running through this documentary as we follow the young Waad Al-Kateab as she finds happiness, love and bears a child all whilst her surroundings in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo are quite literally raining hell down upon her. Using her own photography, we are taken into the thick of things and exposed to the conflict this woman faces as she must juggle her own determination to be free of the oppression she has known for all of her adult life with an equally visceral need to get the young Sama to somewhere a little safer. She remains astonishingly upbeat for much of this film, remaining stoic as she tries to reconcile the threads that are straining her and her family, and with some frank contributions from her husband and from an whole array of friends from her war-torn and starving community, we are never far from a choice that she knows will ca…
