For Sama

DIRECTOR(S): Edward Watts, Waad Al Kateab   COUNTRY: United Kingdom   YEAR: 2019   LANGUAGE(S): Arabic   SUBTITLES: German   RUNNING TIME: 95 min

SECTION: International Forum 2019

SCREENINGS

Thursday, 03.10., 5.00 pm, kinoeins
Sunday, 06.10., 7.15 pm, kinoeins, Q&A with Waad Al-Kateab (Skype)

SYNOPSIS

FOR SAMA is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war. 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.

WAAD AL KATEAB

Waad al-Kateab was born and raised in Syria. She started studying at the University of Aleppo, but in the beginning of the Arabic Spring, she was trained by NGOs to be a civilian journalist and report from her home to news programmes like Channel 4 News or Orient TV. Her reports, such as Inside Aleppo, were watched by billions of viewers and her work won an Emmy award.

FILMOGRAPHY

For Sama (2019)

EDWARD WATTS

Edward Watts studied Modern History at the University of Oxford. He mostly works for television and directs programs like Unreported World and Dispatches. Also, he repeatedly travels to regions of crisis to work on films like Oksijan or Escape from ISIS. He received an Emmy award for his works.

FILMOGRAPHY

Unreported World (2007-2011), Secret Pakistan (2011), This World: Norway’s Massacre (2012), Welcome to Rio (2014), The Mega Brothel (2015), Frontline (2015), Dispatches (2012-2015), Escape from ISIS (2015),Spécial investigation (2016), Oksijan (2018), For Sama (2019)

PRODUCER: Waad Al Kateab   CAMERA: Waad Al Kateab   EDITORS: Chloe Lambourne, Simon McMahon   MUSIC: Nainita Desai 

PRODUCTION: Channel 4 News, ITN Productions, Channel 4, PBS Frontline   WORLD SALES: Stephanie Fuchs, Autlook Filmsales   GERMAN DISTRIBUTOR: Claudia Oettrich, Filmperlen

WEBSITE
https://www.forsamafilm.com/