For Sama

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.

Keywords

  • A Migration Odyssey
  • Best of 2020
  • Cine-Short: 90 Minutes of cinema
  • European Film Awards
  • Festival de Cannes
  • Film Fest Gent !
  • Film Fest Gent (home)
  • Portraits of empowered women
  • The Oscars
  • World Cinema

Actors

  • Sama Al-Khateab
  • Hamza Al-Khateab
  • Waad al-Kateab

Director

  • Waad al-Kateab
  • Edward Watts

Documentary


1h 40min


-16

EN


FR

NL

Syrian Arab Republic
2019
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.

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.


Festivals

Cast & Crew