The Greatest Sacrifice
Syria Sees You is an annual program of contemporary Syrian cinema presented by the Regards Syriens collective, in collaboration with the Cinémathèque québécoise. Every edition is an opportunity to engage with alternative perspectives and experiences of the war in Syria, and to admire the strength of a cinema of exile and displacement created by Syrians seeking justice, freedom and peace.
For the past 6 years, Syria Sees You has presented a diversity of films–both by Syrian filmmakers who remain in Syria and others who live in exile–that provide a multitude of perspectives on and experiences of the counter-revolution that followed the 2011 uprisings. As the war in Ukraine goes on, these perspectives remain more necessary than ever. The international community’s indifference towards the 500,000 dead, 13.4 million Syrians in need of humanitarian and protection assistance, 6.7 million internally displaced, and 6.6 million refugees is brought into focus by the suffering of the Ukrainian people. The films in the 2022 program are gestures of memory, and glimpses of what it means to live in war, displacement, and exile. For the directors Ramy Farah, Ameer Fakher Eldin, Wael Kadlo, and Orwa Al Mokdad memory is a condition for survival. Regards Syriens collective presents the 6th edition of the contemporary Syrian cinema screening series Syria Sees You from June 21 to 23, 2022.
Haaf and Daour live in the Syrian city of Saraqeb. For three years, director Eyad Aljarod, also from Saraqeb, follows them as the character of the revolution changes. At first, he captures hopeful meetings and meaningful, sometimes poetic conversations, indoors or in the car that Daour uses to patrol the roads, looking for anything that might be endangering his fellow citizens. The Assad regime starts a scorched-earth policy, but Aljarod keeps filming, no matter how dangerous things get. His unflinchingly committed testimony highlights the hope and unity among these helpless but resolute citizens.
Eyad Aljarod
Eyad Aljarod (Syria) was born in Saraqeb and has experienced the Syrian revolution at first hand from its peaceful start to the cruel current conflict. His directorial debut Lovers' Notebooks depicts how his place of birth has been scarred by the revolution.
