A Syrian Love Story

DIRECTOR: Sean McAllister   COUNTRY: United Kingdowm  YEAR: 2015   LANGUAGE(S): Arabic, English   SUBTITLES: German   RUNNING TIME: 76 min  

SECTION: Weekender 2016

SYNOPSIS

Amer and Ragda met in prison in Syria, where they were imprisoned as opponents of the Assad regime. 20 years and three children later, British filmmaker Sean McAllister enters their lives. Ragda is now back in prison. When she is unexpectedly released, everyone is overjoyed.
The family needs Ragda, especially her three-year-old son Bob. But there is no peace. McAllister is arrested and his film material is confiscated – with dramatic consequences: The couple have to move to Lebanon overnight with their children and end up in France. The film follows Amer and Ragda for five turbulent years. How they try to find their way as refugees
as refugees. How Ragda can hardly bear to watch her country sink into chaos from afar without being able to do anything. And how their relationship suffers as a result. A stirring story about flight and love in exile. (Filmfest Hamburg)

SEAN MCALLISTER

Sean McAllister (*1956) left school at 16 and worked in factories until he began training at the National Film School. He has been making documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4 since 1996, filming in Israel, Iraq, Japan and Syria. He won the main prize at the Sheffield Doc/Fest 2015 with A Syrian Love Story.

FILMOGRAPHY
Flyingdales (1988), Toxic Waste (1988), Hessle Road (1988), A Passing Thought (1989), The Season (1990), Crematorium (1993), Life with Brian (1994), Hitting (1995), Just People (1995/1998), Shoot out in Swansea (1997), Working for the Enemy (1997), The Minders (1998), Settlers (2000), Hull’s Angel (2002), The Liberace of Baghdad (2004), Japan: A Story of Love and Hate (2008, NIHRFF-Wettbewerb 2009), The Reluctant Revolutionary (2012), A Syrian Love Story (2015)

CAMERA: Sean McAllister   EDITOR: Matt Scholes   MUSIC: Terence Dunn, Johnny Burke 

PRODUCTION: 10Ft Films Ltd.   WORLD SALES: Maëlle Guenegues, CAT & DOCS  

WEBSITE
http://asyrianlovestory.com/