For Sama

In the film series, the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation shows movies about biographies and stories of people from the Middle East and North Africa.

On June 15, 2023, we will show the British-Syrian documentary "For Sama." The screening will be followed by a conversation about the systematic attacks on medical facilities in Syria and how life-saving facilities have also been targeted by Russia in the war in Ukraine. The panelists will be Dr. Hamza al-Kateab, a physician and spouse of Waad al-Kateab, and Diana Rusnak (via Zoom), an analyst who documents attacks on medical facilities in Ukraine for the Ukrainian Healthcare Center.

Hosted by Dr. Bente Scheller, Head of the Middle East and North Africa Division, Heinrich-Böll-Foundation Berlin.

The film is conceived as a love letter from Waad al-Kateab to her daughter Sama, showing life in East Aleppo during the war and under siege in Syria. As the city crumbles into rubble, Waad falls in love with Hamza, a doctor, marries him and gives birth to their daughter Sama. Hamza and his team maintain the care of the sick and wounded even under the most adverse conditions - a life-threatening activity, as the regime and Russia repeatedly bomb hospitals in a targeted manner. Meanwhile, Waad, a prospective journalist, films everything that happens around her in Aleppo. This includes moments of suffering as well as moments of hope. After the regime retakes eastern Aleppo in December 2016, Waad and her family are forced to flee to Turkey. They hope to one day return to Syria.

By Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts
Syria (2019)
Documentary
Suitable for audiences 16 and older
Arabic-English with English subtitles

Information:
Birgit Arnhold, Project coordinator, Middle East and North Africa Division, Heinrich-Böll-Foundation
E-Mail, birgit.arnhold@boell.de

Awards:

"For Sama" has received over 50 awards. Among others, it is the first documentary to be nominated in four categories at the British Academy Film Awards, where it won Best Documentary. The film received the Swedish Guldbagge 2021 for Best Foreign Film and was awarded the German Human Rights Film Award 2020 in the feature-length category.

The German Film Rating Board awarded the film the rating "Especially Valuable," saying "For Sama" stands out formally as an experience report and video diary from a classic documentary film and the important film is a moving contemporary document.